The Jackal Guards
by AxeO'War
Summary: Following the events of the SMITE comics but with some changes. Anubis was framed for murdering Zeus on Mt. Olympus, forced to hide in India for his own safety, against his wishes. But when Rome calls for war against the world, the rivaling Greeks and Egyptian unite for victory and truth to their struggle.
1. Prologue

**Author's note: This story is inspired by a play through I had in Rome Total War where I lead my Egyptian faction into fighting and even winning the Roman Families and take control of Rome after a massive and heart pounding campaign. Thanks CA for the groundbreaking RTS strategy title. PS, you guys need to make a new Total War game about some other time era like American Civil War, Africa, India, Feudal South East Asia, etc... This story is once again written by me and Squdge/Shiryu Rex of the GRC.**

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From the palace of Knossos to the top of Mt Olympus, Hellas stretches its beauty and majestic philosophies throughout the known world and beyond. Its people prosper in the Agoras, the beating heart of cities from Sparta to Athen and the far reaches of the Anatolia, the various city states rose from humble backgrounds to immense wealth. Even their Egyptian neighbors were impressed by the great development of Hellas and the philosophies of Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Pericles and much more. Among those Egyptian, was Anubis, Patron of the Dead. On the back of his horse Ramiel, he rode on the paved road of Athen towards Mt. Olympus, the summer air was hot and warm on his back and shoulders, he felt the great pleasure of being on the land of the freemen, to be an ambassador of his Pantheon to the long time friends.

However, his moment of peaceful travel was soon interrupted when his ears heard the sound of mortals shouting, the cracks and rumbling of rocks and stone structures can be heard on the horizon as he came closer to it. "Heave! Ho!" Shouted one of the man, as the statue of Hades was yanked from its pedestal at the temple's facade, the worshippers and priests there celebrated their effort and screams their joy in the air. "That can't be good, what is the meaning of this?" Anubis wondered as he galloped towards the mortal group. "What's happening here? You don't look like vandals from the looks of things." He asked the group and much to his surprise they knelt before him, bowing their heads to the ground before his regal appearance. "Uhh...what is your purpose for this...display of fidelity?" He perplexed.

"We mortals have been suffering for far too long!" Cried the priest in his white toga as he approached Anubis offering him gifts, a bronze statue of Anubis jackal reclining on a pedestal with Greek writing on it that reads "Noble Judge and Beacon of Hope ever after." The title was quite grand and chivalrous to say the least as Anubis had to tilt his head in confusion. "What on Earth? Hades has been neglecting you?" The jackal deity asked and the priest nodded to him. "Aye" he said, "Our countless prayers and sacrifices mean nothing to him m'lord. We believe that no longer does Hades uphold his principle of unquestioning commitment to his duty to the mortals. And so in our hour of despair, we turn to you Anubis, most diligent and fair of all the Underworld deities in the Mediterranean." The priest declared as the Greeks there began to give Anubis flowers and bouquet to express their love to him. Their songs of praises and lyres were strummed in his honor. "Very well...I can't turn down the willing worshippers such as you. You all are welcomed to worship me be it here in your home or along the Nile." Anubis declared somewhat reluctantly and even confused by the situation he found himself in.

But before he could say anything else, he heard the sound of a booming thud and electric zapping behind him, he turned his head around to face the source of the sound and found much to his horror, the deity of Greek Underworld, Hades. "How dare you steal my followers, mutt? Return them to me or suffer punishment at the foot of Olympus." Hades commanded as he ventured forward, his appearance was a grisly reminder of the eventual demise of all life and how grotesquely deformed and twisted it looks to mortals. His body was clad in a purple robe with a hood hiding his entire face with antlers and prongs perching up on his head.

"I can't give back what I didn't take, you neglect your duty to your own followers and for that, they turn to someone else who would answer their prayers." Said Anubis as he held his scepter in his right hand and poised his horse Ramiel for a charge at Hades. Aggression was clearly not an ideal situation right now as Anubis was actively getting into conflict with the pantheon he was sent to mediate with. "Then perhaps some house rules must be laid down on you." Hades's scepter began to glow sickly green with his skeletal arms giving off an aura of dread.

"We'll see about that." Anubis uttered as he lobbed his energy ball out at Hades, who in turn fired his own energy ball at Anubis. The two balls clashed with each other, discharging their energy against one another and exploded in mid air, Anubis would then ride in towards Hades and fired his Mummification Attack on Hades to ensnare him, causing Hades to struggle against the Mummification bandages and growl out at the sight of Anubis skirting around him and pelting him with his Plague of Locusts. Hades then quickly melted down into the ground and moved about causing mortals to flee the sight of battle while Anubis sniffed the air for Hades's scent. He soon saw that Hades was emerging from underground and his blast knock Anubis off of Ramiel's back, his steed whirred in shock as its master was thrown off its saddle. "I told you so. Give me back my followers and I will let you go…" Hades approaches Anubis slowly with his left hand throwing out a miasma of dread and soul devouring force on Anubis.

The jackal deity refused to give in and quickly returned the favor by slamming the hilt of his scepter on the ground summoning Grasping Hands to tuck at Hades's robe and yank him down from his levitation walk. Anubis then quickly got back on his feet and fired his Gaze of Death at Hades's head, blasting him flying into the temple, smashing the pillars and columns apart. The mortals who were watching the battle unfold from their safe distance cheered and whistle in admiration to Anubis. "Cease this violent transgression, I command!" Called an elderly booming voice from above as the thunder struck the ground violently, from it came the Ruler of the Sky, the God of Thunderstorm and King of Mt. Olympus, Zeus himself. With his grey hair and beard he levitated to Anubis dressed in white toga and extend a hand to the Jackal. "I recall you are an emissary to this land and yet you are here fighting the pantheons you were supposed to mediate with, it makes me wonder if Ra was right in his mind sending you here."

Anubis shoulder dusted himself before crossing his arms at Zeus to show just how seriously offended he was. "With all respect Zeus, these mortals were Hades followers, but their patron has neglected them. In despair they voluntarily turn to me while Hades just so happen to arrive and start a battle against my wishes." He did not bat an eye or even move his gaze away from Zeus as he stood in front of the father of all Deities, the Greek God of Thunder turned around to see that his brother was levitating back to Anubis coughing out exhaustively and most definitely outraged by the jackal deity's intervention and his combat prowess despite the young age of only 40 years old. "Hades! How dare you neglect your worshippers? What hath your mind been dothing about these days?" Zeus roared out at his brother who huffed back at the Ruler of the Golden throne.

"Oh Zeus, brother, I have nothing to say about what I do. And I shall not speak a word more regarding what is going on right now as it is outside of your concern, you should look to your own fidelity before judging me." Hades's remark gave Zeus a boiling anger as he glared at Hades for his insubordination of the King. "You all shall be in my home on Mt. Olympus now." Said Zeus as he held his thunderbolt high in hand, with a zap and blinding light that struck them, they were transported to the top of Mt. Olympus. "Alright, now tell me, what happened back there Anubis?" Zeus asked as the dust settled.

"Simple, I was on my way from Athen to Olympus when I saw the mortals tearing down Hades's temple, they said that Hades has been ignoring their plights for some reasons. They offered me gifts and other praises. Reluctantly, I accepted them as I have no ground to decline." Anubis sighed out to Zeus as he crossed his hands while giving Hades a slight glare for the aggression that the Lord of the Underworld suddenly show to the Patron of the Dead. But while they were debating merits of the participant in the brief clash, Aphrodite and Mercury were nearby seemingly in their own conversation about something when the Goddess of Fertility, Love and Women heard the booming gravely voice of Anubis.

Aphrodite looked past Mercury's hyperactive nature, and was completely oblivious to him by the time Anubis's voice hit her ears. Her walking speed increased, and she moved into the same room where Anubis and the other deities were discussing the troubles Hades was causing by his ignorance towards his own followers. She however did not know this, and wondered what the commotion in the palace was about, and why Anubis seemed more emotionally angry today. "Anubis? Hey doggy! It's been awhile since i've seen you here, or at all." Aphrodite said in an excited tone as she moved closer to him. However, Anubis was greeted by the blurred wave of Mercury as well. "Hey there jackal head! Long time no see!" mercury exclaimed.

Anubis grunted as he felt overwhelmed by the welcoming of Mt. Olympus much to Zeus's dismay of his own children. "Hermes! Aphrodite! Behave yourselves as our emissary from Egypt is on important business." He bellowed out, causing thunder to crackle and the booming explosions of their discharges sounded across the heaven of Olympus. "Now, now, you heard your father, children. Behave and prove that you more restraint than your father was in his days." Said Hades as he snickered at the sight of Zeus's embarrassment and outrage at his brother's attempt to take potshot at his infamous cases of infidelity. Not a day goes by without someone pointing out Zeus's hypocritical nature and his high standard which he never uphold.

"Enough Hades! Anubis shall have your former followers as it is final! Now leave my presence immediately!" Zeus commanded his brother with an impatient roar, the sinister Hades would then huffed out and disappeared into ashes and smoke, gone from sight at last for Zeus to sit down on his golden throne forged by Hephaestus. Seeing the throne reminded Anubis of something and turned back to Aphrodite to ask her. "How have you been? The last that I heard from you was you were engaged to someone, Hephaestus was it?" He asked curiously to her but also sounding rather concern at the same time as he put his luggage and souvenirs down on the ground.

Aphrodite however did the odd thing, and instead of showing she was happily engaged by nodding she instead showed him things were not quite right in her world. She sighed and sat down next to Anubis while the upper part of her body slumped forwards. She looked to him shaking her head slowly. "No. I'm afraid engagement does not bring a permanent unity between two people. These aren't like the old days were marriage meant something." She said looking foods at the constructions Hephaestus made. She seem to look at the objects with a bitter expression rather than with a pleased happy look. "He moved on. Rome is his love, and as such he roamed to Rome. Sounds like a good song doesn't it? Written by me about how love isn't permanent." Aphrodite said with a sigh.

Anubis too sighed out hearing this as he felt that time has been cruel to Aphrodite while he was away. He felt that perhaps he should have pursued a relationship with Aphrodite and foster a union with her. But then again, his mindset with women was never right as his life had rendered him numb and alien to the concept of love and other matters of romance. "I am sorry to hear Aphrodite, you shouldn't have suffered this in anyway at all. There's not much I can say in the matter however as I was not present here to be aware of the unfortunate union." He sighed out before approaching Zeus with a scroll of Papyrus paper in his paws. "My Lord Zeus, I hope that this pact would bring us solid ground in these times of turmoil. I heard that a number of deities from your pantheon have left for Rome…"

Zeus nodded to Anubis as he sighed out, picking up the scroll and opened it to read it, thankfully the writing was in Greek, perhaps penned by either Anubis or Thoth. The wording were obviously of Ra while the two acted as scribes to bring his words to a formal coil. "Regrettably yes. Hercules the Mighty champion have left Greece and he took up the role of a Champion for Rome. I may still have Ares and Athena. But who are they compared to the might and wit of Heracles?" He drowsily replied to Anubis.

The jackal deity sighed out hearing this, his sympathy to the God of Thunder speaks so much in the silence he displayed. "With respect Zeus, Hercules is still lesser to Athena in terms of knowledge and wisdom, and he is much more prone to wordly things than Ares to compensate for his emotional imbalance." Said Anubis as he saw Zeus giving him a seal of approval bearing the Omega symbol of Greece before handing it back to Anubis. "Thank you Zeus, there are still many matters to discuss but I shall continue when you are in a better state of mind." Said Anubis as he retire himself from Zeus's presence to follow Aphrodite out to the more relaxing part of the palace. The jackal deity walked alongside her carrying the number of luggage and gifts that he suddenly received from the mortals, "So then Aphrodite...Hellas has been doing well for itself now has it? The Greeks have spread far and wide into parts of the world that they wouldn't have gone to before." As they were passing through the cloudy and granite halls of Zeus's palace in heaven they saw Ares and Athena practicing their combat methods with Ares sporting a gigantic sword and shield that shot out a chain and doubled as a flamethrower while Athena held up her golden shield and spear to counter her brother's aggressive style. "I hope that we could...pursuit something with each other, like a relationship perhaps." He suggested to her.

She cringed watching Athena and Ares fight, She herself wasn't against fighting for herself despite her appearance, but seeing the vicious and brutal ways Ares and Athena fought gave her some kind of fear knowing they could injure each other during their exchange. She however heard Anubis's words, and took her focus off of the practice combat routine to give him a longing smile. "Oh yes! I thought you would never ask me!" she exclaimed with glee. Her arms immediately found their ways around Anubis's body to give him a tight squeeze. For him thankfully she was more light in her embrace compared to other deities. Although she had a clear warm and loving embrace that spoke a strong impact on Anubis's soul.

Anubis let out a whimper of joy, a feint one but still audibly noticeable and he returned the favor by hugging her deep into his chest. This caught the eyes of Ares and Athena, the God of War himself huffed out at Anubis's display of kindness and general empathy towards Aphrodite, scoffing it in fact, "Hmph! That mutt couldn't even sniff under her skirt for his birth." He snided in a cruel and lewd manner. "Ares! Your mother wouldn't want you back into hers either." Athena retorted as she thrusted her spear at Ares's Corinthian helmet, knocking him back slightly. "Well play sister...well played." He huffed out exhaustively at Athena before retiring away from the practice field. Anubis himself followed Aphrodite into a chamber of his own, it screamed of Greek luxury with a stool, a bed and a chest made from the most valuable material there was, gold and painted with a shiny gloss that would no doubt make Ra's eyes melt.

"You guys sure know how to impress us with furniture." Said the jackal deity as he placed his luggage down and look out of the balcony seeing the wider world underneath, the land and mountains of Hellas and the Aegean Sea that lead them to Asia Minor where new Greek colonies were set up everyday. "Maybe after this...diplomatic mission I will ask your hand in marriage, but that sounds a bit rush, don't you think?" He asked her as sit down on the bed in front of Aphrodite looking out at the vast expanse of the Hellenic World that these Olympians rule over. It would be hard to imagine how can anyone challenge their majestic supremacy and elegant philosophies.

Aphrodite herself sighed, and sat on the bed next to Anubis, and watched the sight of the partly cloudy sky just outside of the balcony the room had. She made a gentle sigh watching the sights feeling somewhat more at peace. Especially now she had Anubis back with her. The question Anubis asked gave her a kind smile, but the cautious nature of such a question gave her a lot to think on. "Oh well… maybe we can get to know each other. As much as i would not mind seeing all these each day when I wake up." Aphrodite said rubbing Anubis's abs. "You really kept yourself in shape. I suppose Horus is keeping you busy?" She asked.

Anubis chuckled a bit feeling slightly ticklish by the motion of Aphrodite. "Oh yes he has been. We went on a expedition campaign a few years ago, attacking and overrunning the Rump State of Seleucid. Last month we took their last settlement of Sardis, solidifying our rule next to the Greek States." Said Anubis as he opened a brand new map of the world as drawn by cartographers of Egypt and Greece, it showed that Egypt now spread from its traditional homeland out to the far reaches of Judea, Nabatea, Assyria, the Mesopotamia, Arabia Magma's northern edge and even out to the island of Cyprus, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Ionia, Lycia and even encompassed the Island of Rhodos where Anubis helped Isis raised Horus when he was a toddler. "Our hard work, has net us with many rewards and the fruits of our labor has gifted us much prestiges. Horus has shaped up to be a fine prince so far and a capable military commander, he'll be fine on the throne." Anubis sighed out hopefully as he thought about the brilliant battle tactics and campaign strategies the two brothers came up with one another while fighting the Seleucid Empire, from the brilliant use of Siege tower attacking undefended sections of a settlement to the swift and decisive capture of Sardis by undermining its walls by Anubis's sappers.

Aphrodite thought on the war Horus and Anubis had mentioned, and despite the two bonding through the brutal fights, and becoming actual brothers in arms there was a concern that had grown in her head knowing that Anubis and Horus could possibly risk a vicious injury fighting a war such as this. She smiled regardless and rested her head on Anubis's shoulder. "Brave men. But besides being you know together fighting for each other like that what about when you guys are with peace? You know. Just relaxing, and bonding outside of battle?" She asked though clearly she was much more gentle and with a strong sense of peace among her.

Anubis nodded to her and turned his head to face hers. "Well we do, I tend to my farms in Lycopolis, collect taxes and trade with the Indians. In fact I've been thinking about a trip to India lately just to see what that country is like. The Nubians and Aksumite told me of spices in that country is second to none." Said Anubis as he show Aphrodite a Sanskrit scroll of India. One that was imported to them by the Indian traders from the conquered Aksum. It detailed the various practices and maps of regions in India, one of them was marked by an elephant headed deity with four arms. He was a chubby figure, probably in proportion with the elephant head. He sat cross legged on a lotus with his four arms holding a lotus, a dagger, a plate of fruit and a tusk while sporting pinkish violet skin.

Aphrodite's eyes widened somewhat as she looked to the four armed elephant deity. "Huh. Well this is embarrassing… I'm not the most knowledged on the Hindu deities. Aren't they like newer than us?" she asked with the faintest hint of perplexion in her voice. She looked at the scroll deeper, and kept her eyes trained on the deity. The chubby stature of the elephant headed deity made her laugh however. "He looks weird. I think others might be creeped out by the arms, but he looks kinda funny to me. Like for real. He looks like he could be a big hugger with the four arms." she said still giggling.

"I heard he's Ganesha, God of Fortune and patron for diligent workers of all strives. He is the wisest of the Hindu Pantheon." He looked at the map of India fascinated by the Pantheon there as complete strangers to him and of course the diverse and exotic land of India gave him the hints of the Orient and the distant Pantheons of China and Japan, places that he had never come to before. "I'd wager that he may be the friendliest of the Pantheon there, but honestly, until I meet him, you'll occupying that spot for me." He said half jokingly as he hugged her in and cuddle into her giving her some love and kisses to enjoy the bliss of his off duty moment.

[hr]

After dinner with the Hellenic Pantheon, Anubis was seen alone with Zeus looking over the Non Aggression Pact that he drafted with Thoth and Ra to the Hellenic Pantheon. "Here, with this our two pantheons can be safe from aggression against one another for the time being. The Norse has been having a hard time, along with the Celts with Rome's aggression in Gaul and Germania already. I fear that the Romans will soon go down to the Balkans and eventually Greece seeing their unchecked aggression is most troubling." Said Anubis as he laid the treaty out to Zeus and let him see it again for himself to review the content. Once the God of Thunder seem to be content with it, he gave his signature in Greek letters and handed the treaty to Anubis and shook his hand. "You serve your House well Anubis, your diligent and dedication is equal to that of Hephaestus himself, and perhaps...that of Hermes." Zeus sighed out and shook Anubis's hand before handing him a goblet of Dionysus's wine to celebrate their progress in diplomacy.

"You are too kind Zeus, but I thank you. Ra will be most pleased by this, I am certain." The young jackal deity took a sip from his goblet before retiring to his room with the Pact in hand, he rolled it up and put a seal on it again before putting it into his pouch. He sighed out feeling rather disappointed and lonely knowing that he will have to leave soon. The past few days and weeks have been taking their tolls on him. Making it hard for him to enjoy the world for once. He had been pushed to diplomacy missions first with the various kingdoms to the South to subdue them easier and without a fight, giving Egypt monopoly in Gold mind, then he went to Carthage to establish trade relationship with the Punic city before going to the Greek settlements to give Ra an accurate awareness of their temperaments towards Egypt. Soon, he will have to leave for India as well.

He picked up his luggage and belongings rather reluctantly, feeling that he was being forced by duty to leave but he wished to stay for Aphrodite a bit more. Anubis went out to the hallways of Olympus's palace of the Gods and venture into Aphrodite's chamber, there he found her sleeping on the furry bed with wolf skin as her bed sheet. He sighed out and kissed her cheek lightly trying not to wake her up. "I love you…" He whispered softly to her before leaving with a letter placed on her shelf. In the dead of night he rode on Ramiel's back towards the port of Athen and boarded his personal ship, a Penter Galley ship with a large mast in the middle that bore the symbol of Egypt's Horus falcon, or could be Ra's Hawk with sun emblem behind it. "Set sail!" The captain hollered to his crew and first mate, the vessel untie its mast and began to paddle its way out into the open sea of the Mediterranean Sea.

[hr]

The next day, as the sun rises in the East to give the inhabitants of Gaia knowledge that it is a new day. But while some woke with joy and excitement in their hearts and minds, others like Aphrodite and Athena were greeted with a gruesome sight, Zeus...murdered. Laid dead on the floor of his own hall with Hades inspecting the corpse, next to him were Ares and Athena who were all appalled by the murder. Ares himself was outraged by this as he roared out in anger and outrage. "Who did this!?" He exclaimed out loud, "I have no clue, the murderer left little to no clues other than this…" Hades picked up a strand of fur on Zeus's chest, it was black jackal fur that Ares would recognize right away as Anubis's. "Aphrodite! Look what he had done! That Egyptian dog has murdered father and violated Olympus's sanctuary!" The God of War yelled out and show Aphrodite the fur stand before giving it to Hermes.

The sight of how Zeus layed dead, and bleeding appalled Aphrodite. Her own elderly father laying dead and with no good reason. Her eyes swelled up full of burning tears of sadness, and she fell to her knees once her legs could no longer support her petite properly. However, the situation for her got worse once a piece of Anubis's fur had been found on Zeus's body. She gasped trying to hold back her emotions, but she only resorted to loud shaken snivels. "No… No! Not Anubis! Why- No! He would never resort to murder! I won't believe it! I refuse to believe this!... Why would he kill d-dad?..." Aphrodite questioned begging for a logical answer. Her heart ached and she felt her delicate soul shatter seeing the only evidence of a murder being Anubis here before her.

"I'll ask him when I find him and if he doesn't admit his guilt then I'll have his head on a platter!" Ares boastfully exclaimed to Aphrodite as he raced out to gather his weapons and armor. However Athena placed her hand on Aphrodite's shoulder and comfort her sister. "Sister, know this. Anubis maybe the God of the Afterlife but he can never be a killer. It is not his way to kill without purpose or causes. Ares's anger makes him liable to be manipulated so I fear that there maybe other interest groups in this. I will find Anubis and I will clear his name." Said Athena and went out to chase Ares down before he can do anything crass and foolhardy.

[hr]

Back at Egypt, things were not going well, Anubis sat with Ra and Thoth with the treaty that Zeus had ratified and confirmed to be in agreement with. However, they were also reading a declaration of war from the Greeks for the cause of Anubis being the murderer of Zeus. It was baffling to all of them, even Anubis was speechless to see that he was accused of being a murderer. He slammed his fist on the table in fury and stood up. "Preposterous!" He yelled out. "I have no bone to pick with Zeus and now they suddenly declare war after we had signed an agreement of Non Aggression! This is nuts!" Said Anubis as he paced around the room in boiling fury equals that of Ra.

Ra himself looked to the allegations, and felt his eyes ablaze with fury. His eyes scanned over the declaration trying to connect the logic the Hellenic deities had to choose Anubis. He could not comprehend what he was reading, and finally his rage snapped. His anger forced him to grab the bottom of the table and then throw his arms upwards with no restraint on fury flipping the table over on Thoth. Ra nearly growled if not for the fact he was an avian deity. "Blasphemy! I sent you over to make peace with the Greek deities! How could Zeus wind up dead after one night? One night! There is no possible way you could have done this! I spent weeks training you on negotiating!... Something smells fishy, and I want to know before this swallows all of our pantheons…" Ra said while his eyes glew of crackling electricity shaped light energy.

Thoth weakly let out a mumble while the two other deities fought. He lifted the table off of his body, and moved it to the side so he could stand. Only as he stood his legs shook visibly in a nervous fear. All of his limbs were held close to his body, and his posture was held with his back arched lowely. "I feel the hypothetical blood is on my hands… Right now an entire pantheon is pointing their sh-sharp weapons at us, and demand our own blood in return for Zeus. Oh the mess this is. I feel the Hellenic empire is without a doubt in their own turmoild without a leader…" Thoth stated while swallowing his fear in a nervous gulp.

"There's no way that Zeus was murdered by me, I can't do that and not powerful enough to do so! Secondly, I have a feeling that someone wants us to go out against one another. I will have to face them head on and make my innocent known!" Anubis declared to the two elder deities before walking out to the window watching the coming enemies, the Greek Navy was massing over the horizon, the port of Alexandria was about to be blockaded and besieged by the incoming Greeks, standing on the flagship was Ares and Athena though she was much more reluctant in the invasion for a single deity who was alleged to have murdered Zeus. Ares himself couldn't care less as long as HIS justice is served then all was right in the world.

As the naval forces pulled into Egypt Ra made his way one of the windows in the palace to get a good view of the forces that were amassing against him. He grunted and felt his bird eyes widen. His eyes were keen enough so he could view the force, and even see Ares's furious expression. Ra huffed, and walked backwards feeling weaker, and suddenly light head. "That war pig! They are already here, and… And we haven't even made our own preparations!" Ra shouted. He grabbed his head feeling increasingly angered, and suddenly from his eyes came a premature use of his ultimate attack. A bright golden beam shot out at lasser force and struck a nearby wall shattering and melting it.

Ra's attack caused Thoth to yelp loudly and jump. He looked back at Ra, and knew the elder deity's heart and by this point soul was not in good enough shape for a surprise like this. Thoth himself felt weak watching the arm grow closer. As much as he wanted to scream to Anubis to run, and hide as an innocent fugitive he knew this was not aligned to his justice, and worse yet he could not protect Anubis form this. "I don't think i can argue our way out of this one my friends… My debating skills are fruitless against the muscular mass of Ares…" Thoth admitted.

Anubis huffed out hearing this. He couldn't run away and leave his family to be punching bags of Ares and his rage filled fists. "Damn it! I can't just leave you all here to die at that red meat's rage!" He retorted back to Ra and Thoth as he held up his Xiphos in the air, however, his objection was soon met with another force pressuring him to leave, Isis. She walked into the room with her dress in splendid marvel showing herself as a Goddess of regal motherhood and foresight of her judgements. "Anubis, I know that you want to prove yourself innocent and protect us, but fighting Ares would only lead to more conflict with the Greeks in this time of turmoil when the world is tearing itself apart. Go into hiding my son, you'll be safe, have at least one innocent after darkness is better than perish in it." Said Isis as she put her hand on Anubis's shoulder giving him a shiver when he was suddenly feeling deja vu at the thought of being reminded of his biological mother's death when he left her. "Mother, Isis, I can't...I lost Nephthys when I ran away and I won't let it happen again to you. I've already lost too much…" He groaned out as he collapsed to the ground huffing out feeling exhausted and strained by the situation he was in. "Thoth, escort him to Myos Hormos, the port there will take him to the safety of India. It's better to have my son be safe than being dead for a crime he did not commit." Isis commanded sternly to Thoth before helping Anubis up to his feet much to his objection of the situation.

Thoth quickly nodded his head while he brought a hand to his forehead to salute Isis. He lowered his hand, and looked to Anubis's eyes feeling a very prominent memory come to his head while the situation seemed to boil over out of control. The memories of Anubis being forced to run from Set came back to him, and as such the bad, and yet sweet nostalgic memories of him and Anubis hiding while also bonding flowed into his head.

"If Ares touch a hair of anyone of you, I'll have his head on a platter." Anubis growled aggressively as he slowly went out of the chamber with his sword sheathed. He begrudgingly went to pack his belongings while the servants and Guards of the palace went to their posts preparing to defend the place from the danger of the Greek invasion force, the Greeks weren't known for large armies but they were known for high quality forces with durable weapons and armor. As their victory against the Persians at the battle of Salamis, Marathon and Thermopylae had demonstrated that they weren't meant to be trifled with.

The city of Alexandria had to open its gates to let the citizens of the city and the merchants there move out to other cities around the Nile Delta, large and small towns will have to prepare themselves for the coming of refugees suddenly displaced from their home by the mere threat of conflict with an invasion looming out at sea. They packed their belongings and necessities before moving in large columns, escorted by Hellenic and Heliopolis soldiers heading up stream of the Nile and towards the older cities that had seen depopulation due to migration to the Nile Delta and other holdings outside of the old Egyptian realm. Anubis and Thoth rode out on their horses following the trail of the various refugees, they head down the Nile Delta along the canal towards the Dead Sea, disappearing from sight for the time being.

Out at sea, Ares was seen on his flagship with Athena and Hermes, his sister and brother were reluctant to say the least as they see that Ares had nothing to cling on to in his accusation of Anubis and his sudden desire to invade Egypt with the might of Greek Cities just for a murder that hadn't been investigated properly. "Our plan of attack is simple! First our fire ships will sail into the port with fire pots to burn the Egyptian ships and our catapult will bombard the city with fire shots to spread confusion into their ranks. Once that is done our troops will disembark at two points, the port and the gates to take the city's Eastern edge in a two prongs attack." Said Ares as he show Hermes and Athena a battle plan he drawn up using a battle map of Alexandria and a war table that had a model of the city complete with the sea and their fleet placement corresponding with their positions complete with clouds and weather condition, day and night cycle to properly command troops. "Any questions?" He asked with a snarl at Athena and Hermes.

Hermes rose his hand high in the air, and nodded his head at a blurred speed. "Yeah yeah yeah! I got one!" Hermes said while clearing his throat. His hand lowered so he point ahead of the ship. "How does your fire pot idea work bro? I mean we are on the sea. The sea has water, and fire don't mix so well on water." He said. He then dashed to the front of the sea, and pointed to the opposing forces that were now against him. "Also I don't think they are just going to let us move in and burn their biscuits bud. Do you even have a defense plan, or is your tin covered head going to make this all of our last voyage?" Hermes asked.

"To top that off...do you have a proper cause to invade them?" Athena asked a razor sharp question to Ares who then widened his eyes and tilted his head at his sister's wise assessment. "I do!" He fired back. "He murdered father and run away the same night when father died!" He cried out to Athena, however, she was not impressed seeing that her brother remained a stubborn fool who grasped straws whenever he could. "Hermes, it is clear that Ares is not qualified to lead military matters and exercise his power despite being the God of War. I will find Justice for Father but only with sound judgement. Follow me Hermes, Ares can have the ship to himself." Said Athena as she stood up and walked up to the deck of the ship, expecting Hermes to follow her while Ares was left to frown and lash out in a mad manner in his cabin. His sister had walked all over him repeatedly and his Spartans haven't been given any wars to collect new Helots, this made him all the more unstable as he hack and slash the furniture in his cabin.

Hermes quickly zipped a quick circle around Ares, and made a cocky, and yet mocking salute to Ares. "Well good luck to yah Sergeant Slaughter! Imma live another day. Maybe a nice vacation by the Nile! See yah bro!" Hermes start making another zip around Ares in a display to mock him. He quickly met up with Athena and flexed his own muscle while imitating Ares's voice. "Witness these muscles he says! Has there ever been a sexier man alive he questioned. How about do you got any common sense in your head, or did the helots squeeze your brain juice?" Hermes asked while chuckling.

"Hermes I fear that Anubis is framed by someone, an interest group intending for something terrible to happen. I must speak to Ra now since Ares shall have no reasons." Said Athena as she held up the supposed Jackal fur of Anubis found on the corpse of Zeus, something was not right for both her and Hermes, the fur strand was at first all black when found like Anubis's fur. But after some observation, Hermes noticed that it was just a piece of hair strand found on anyone just painted black and made to look like a jackal fur. "A clever trick to the simple minded like Ares." Said Athena as she handed it to Hermes, the fur itself was apparently dipped in ink to give it the jet black color.

"Whaaaaat? Hold up Athe! Ech! It even smells like ink. Ew books…" Mercury said in disgust. He grabbed the piece of fur, and tried to dust it off. "Maybe this isn't permanent ink. Maybe I can yah know get the ink off of this. Besides that Athena tha guy has his fur stuck onto his body! He didn't look like a rug when he came in so I doubt he'd shed all over the place! If this wasn't so bad of a situation I think this could have gone down as the biggest prank of the century. But nah. Someone somewhere we took it too far." hermes said in a quick huff.

"And now war is potentially coming towards us. We must enter the palace now to warn Ra." Said Athena as she went to the side of the ship and gestured for Hermes to pick her up and run towards the city. The quickster of course did as she ask and ferry her in a lighting fast blur across the water surface towards the harbor where he jumped up from the water surface and landed on the streets of the city, he then ran across town passing through the columns of Greek and native Egyptian soldiers running to their posts along the walls and coastal defenses. Inside the palace at that moment, Isis and Ra were sobbing the forceful departure of Anubis for his own safety, Anhur and Sekhmet were seen in the chamber to report the preparation effort of the men. "So far our forces have fortified the Northern and Eastern walls somewhat with archers and onagers, the ballistas are ready on the beach to bombard their landing points if they do try." Said Anhur as he show Ra the troops dispositions of the Egyptian Army and Navy in Alexandria to defend the city. That was when Hermes and Athena arrived in the room to interrupt the meeting.

Hermes holding her still felt his legs tremble and shake. He panted in slight exhaustion feeling his arms burn a little. "Sis is that the armor, or have you been putting on the pounds?..." Hermes said putting her back to her feet. He then stretched his back, out and sighed."Oh right. We were here to do the thing. Ahem." Hermes glanced to the table and made a waving blur greeting the other deities. "New evidence has come up! We got a new thing, and a clue! I think. We have definite doubts about your puppy headed death head being a malicious murderer!" Mercury shouted loudly.

Ra however only made a confused squint at Mercury, and blink his eyes confused by his speech pattern. Mainly how fast he spoke. "Excuse me?... Mercury or Hermes… Whoever. This is not a time for you hyperactive lingo boy. We are in the beginning parts of a war, and a family feud I got at that… Another one!" Ra shouted. He shook his head out, and huff. "This is why i don't attend dinner parties anymore. State your business!" Ra shouted.

Athena then stepped in and held up the alleged fur strand found on Zeus, it was still dripping with ink but Ra can see that it was losing the jet black color of ink and reveal the blond color that would be out of place for the Mediterranean region except for Athena whose hair is as gold as her armor. "Look at this, we found this on Zeus's body, a single fur strand made to look like Anubis's fur but I know for certain that if it belongs to him, it's too soon for his fur to shed and if he was the murderer then he must be older to match power of Zeus himself." Said Athena as she handed the fur stand to Ra to inspect it. Anhur and Sekhmet noticed that the hair strand was a bit too short in comparison to that of Athena, as it was obviously male but there was no telling that the hair strand had a clear cut owner before. "Hades could have murdered Zeus if the souvenirs and tales that Anubis brought back are anything to go by." Isis assessed as she stroke her chin looking at the fur strand. "And Ares is too dense, as a brick if I may say so to even bother figure this out, he was neglected by Zeus for too long that now anything for him to lash his anger out would do well for him. But now would be a better time to punch him out of his killing spree." Said Isis.

The new evidence that had entered the light only made Ra's anger grow more knowing he was right however. The fact that there was still a murderer on the loose, and was getting away scot free made Ra's heart boil with rage. "Well then who killed Zeus? The situation is quickly spiraling out of absolute control, and that the king of the god and leader of your pantheon is dead we are all going to face fire and fury! Stock market crashes, pandemonium in the streets, hellfire and brimstone, cities and whole civilizations falling, the dead walking among the living, riots and riff raff all without control, dogs and cats living together under the same roof! Mass hysteria!" Ra shouted in panic feeling that the pressure was on his shoulders now. Being a higher authority deity than the rest he felt a sense of duty to take over for Zeus, or some how restore order. His memories flashed chaos in his head leading him to believe Set may fester off of the discord now.

"I have a feeling that Hades may know but we need to get rid of Ares first before going to question him." Said Athena as she took a careful glance at Ares's fleet out at sea, he arrayed his ships into a blockade formation to prevent the economy of Egypt from developing any further until Anubis is surrendered to him by the Egyptian. "Hermes, Anubis was sent to India for his own safety. Go there now and bring him home, if we have to face Ares's wrath, we face Sparta together." Said Isis as she handed Hermes a map of the Indian Ocean stretching from the Southern Nubia kingdom out to the Hejaz kingdom, Arabia Felix, Persia and eventually India on the Westernmost edge of the map.

Mercury took a quick glance at the map, and nodded his head quickly. He cleared his throat out and moved backwards in the room to begin his long trip to retrieve Anubis. "Boy I thought it was the dogs who fetched,a dn not the men. Alright no problemo. No issue. No sweat. Not a problem at all. I can go super fast. Just make sure Leg Day out there doesn't fire anything at his own bro can yah?" Hermes asked as he zipped out of the meeting room in a flash.

Although, this left Ra to let off a sigh of relief without Hermes presence. "Thank goodness… i could barely keep up with him, and everything he said made my brain feel like its swelling more than it should… I need a headache reliever please…" Ra said. His head stung from the hard thoughts that entered in his mind causing him to let out a pained groan. He placed two fingers on form both hands on his temple, and began to circle his temple to relieve the pain in his head. "I certainly hope his talk is not for show. I fear we have run out of time already…" Ra said in solemn tone.

[hr]

Meanwhile, Ares was still in his flagship, tossing and turning on his bed trying to sleep well but as hard as he try, he can not put himself to sleep, he felt that something was not right that something was gnawing at him for some reasons. There was an uneasy feeling that his prey might have ran away. He tossed his bedsheet up and panted out feeling exhausted and went about in his ship trying to find some ways to distract himself with. He then suddenly stopped and turned around to see behind him, the corridor of the ship was empty, quiet but he felt the presence of someone was with him there. He took a step back at his room when he noticed something on his door, it wasn't there before but now it was as clear as day. A note stabbed to the door by a knife.

"Your prey is cowardly as he is as crafty as the jackal he is. While you revel in plundering the riches of the land, he had left for the exotic Orient of India."

Ares tilted his head and squinted his eyes when he saw the writing. This was preposterous not to mention dubious in fact, his target had already ran off to India and he didn't know it, surely taking Alexandria as punishment now would only slow him down. "Curse that mutt! I'll stomp him down as my carpet the moment I get my hands on him!" He bellowed out in an insane tone as he stormed out to the deck of the ship. He then slam his sword's tip on the wooden deck and utter an incantation, the teleportation spell of deities, a blinding light engulf his masculine and oily form before he pointed his blade into the sky and light the stars he was whisped away across space but not time to India.

"Too easy…" Said a figure who was stalking Ares, it was a scrawny and skinny female figure with long black hair down her face with her walking being hunched over and broken with her hands tied by a long silky cloth. She then utter her spell and teleported away from the ship.

[hr]

It was morning at Rome with the Latin speakers went about their daily lives living in one of the biggest cities of the ancient world. They pride themselves as the most civilized people of the planet with their way of life and culture the paragon for all others to follow. To the North, they have driven out the Gauls of the Po Valley and were now fighting in the Gaul itself as well as the Iberia to carve out their empire. To the East they march against the Illyrian tribes of the Balkans. But to the South, trouble remained. In the Senate, debates fire at one another by the Senators with them trading insults and rhetorics at one another. "We should have conquered the Syracusan. Many years ago, they humiliated our Legions and Classis with their mirror that distracted Solus." Shouted one Senator as he held the attention of the Senate's floor with his debate. He was a rather obese, out of shape senator who seemed to be in his middle age with a shaggy hair style.

"Nonsense Crassus!" another retorted, this one was a much younger figure with a red scarf wrapped on his toga. "You proposes more interventions, more conquests while the plebians are living in increasingly worse living conditions. Their slums are growing and the apartments are dilapidating by the daily basis, not a day went by that our plebs have to live in the distraction of glory and fruitless conquests!" Said the younger one while another stood up from his seat to offer his argument. "And yet the Julii like yourself have always been able to drive off unwashed barbarians at our gates. The Geats, the Jutes and the Danes are now forced into the Northernmost edge of the world. Collectively speaking, the Norse are finished!" The Senator emphasized causing the others murmur with one another about the situation. "Tiberius, tell me that you have a solution to the plight of the Plebs who toil endlessly to build Rome. Another campaign of expansion will change Rome's wellbeing for the better just by moving our people out to new colonies." The Julii Senator fired back at his Brutii counterpart.

"The Brutii has been the symbol of power and Rome's stability for years, we have brought order, law and respect to Rome since its inception. The conquest of Makedonia and Hellas will bring Rome to its greatest glory ever!" Crassus declared to his Julii counterpart this made the other members of the Senate standing shouting Aye to the notion of war with the Greeks, silencing the Julii member. Even the Scipii counterparts join in and boxed the Julii in. "Then you can do so without us, the Julii will continue to safeguard the borders of Rome, not expand it!" The young Julii senator declared before walking out of the senate with his fellow Julii members. War was on the horizon for all, "And so be it, the conquest of Hellas has been approved by the Senate, the invasion will be led by the Brutii family, while the Scipii shall take the island of Sicily. Soon, our Roman light will shine over all civilizations on Earth! Now and forever more!" The senate fired into an flurry of activities with them proposing strategies and tactics over the world map of the Eastern Mediterranean. Peace seems to have died at that moment.


	2. Chapter 1: Pen and Sword

It has been a week now since Anubis departed Egypt, reluctantly that is. He sat on the deck of the spice trade ship with his horse Ramiel in the wooden hull of the vessel, he sat alone moping and with his face slumped down looking at the brig of the ship. In his hand was the Xiphos sword he chose when he was 15, now at the age of 40 pushing 41, he felt that war and conflicts shouldn't be something of a foreign concept to him, but rather something he can easily dive into and partake in. Instead, his mother and his relatives, everyone he had ever known asked him to run away without even a chance to prove himself innocent. He wrapped his arms around him feeling worthless, the feeling of abandonment and impotent crawled their ways into his mind eating away his sense of worth. He felt so lonely even though the deck was teeming with crew members of all strives working around the clock to keep the ship on course. He recognized some of them to be Egyptian, others were Nubian, a few of them were Persians or Arab seamen and the rest were from India.

He could speak with the Nubians and Egyptian but it requires him to have something to say on his part. He curled up on the deck like a dog looking at the world moving about in front of him without a single hint of life. It was so dead, cold and emotionless to the point that even some of the Egyptian members were heard conversing with each other about Anubis. "Look at him, since he hopped aboard he has been like that. It's like he's waiting to die." One of the crew said to his mates. "The God of the Dead died from boredom? For real? You must be joking me, anyway feel free to try and show your...sympathy towards him." Said the sailor in tan trouser with a typical Egyptian wig on his head. Anubis sighed out and groaned hearing them converse, back in Lycopolis and Alexandria, he felt that he was shoved back to square one of his life.

"Shore! Shore!" Shouted the observer as the ship began to approach the coastline of India. Anubis's nose could sniff the scent of India's tropical air and a faint scent of curry spices in the air as he was approaching the port. The place was jammed pack with cargoes of Indian spices and not only that, there were various other silks and exotic goods such as porcelain and China goods. Truly the Silk Road had enriched the Sub Continent well. "Anubis! Anubis!" A male voice called to him and caught him by surprise, Anubis bolted up from the wooden ledge of the ship's portboard side and ran to the bow of the ship, his ears twitched and listened in on the voice, finding it strangely calming and soothing. "Welcome to India...you are welcomed here as I, Ganesha God of Fortune and Remover of Obstacles shall provide for your stay." Said the voice as Anubis sighed out in relief, he felt some of the burden on his back were lifted as a friendly deity was ready to welcome him in already. He hasn't seen the deity yet but he knew that the Hindu God was close by.

As the ship came to port, Anubis picked up his luggage of spare clothing, tools and maps and some food up with the crew helping him leading Ramiel out of the cargo hold and down to the pier. "Thank you Captain I'll take care from here." Said Anubis as he mounted Ramiel's back and began to walk out to find his host to be. He looked around and noticed the large warehouse made of mudbrick stretching around 65 meters long, storing immense amount of spices and salts that would sell incredibly well in both Egypt and the Mediterranean. On his right was a massive port authority building where the local government handle matters of trade and other kind of bureaucratic matter. But he soon felt something, a presence, a feeling of being welcomed to India despite feeling distant and alien to this land of elephants, Maharajas, spices and among other things, being a target of Alexander the Great's future expansion. If it weren't for his tired and homesick troops, he would have gone further and perhaps nothing could have stopped him. If only…

He soon came to the entrance of the harbor however and saw that there was a massive rat steed lying on the ground and on its back was a massive deity, Ganesha, his elephant head along with his body sports a pinkish violet color with four arms each holding an artifact of interest. His lower right hand held a dagger, his upper right hand held a plate of fruits; while his left hand held a lotus in his upper hand while the lower one held a tusk. "Welcome to India. I have been expecting you Anubis, your reputation precede you here as the merchants spoke of your conquest of Antioch and the diplomatic missions you've undertook." Said Ganesha as he blew his trunk out triumphantly to give Anubis a slight fanfare. This gave Anubis some sense of relief but also a feeling of surprise seeing that Ganesha had been expecting the fugitive like this meant that someone had informed Ganesha of his coming beforehand.

"Well that is surprising to say the least...It's a strange land here, I only read some mentioning of this place in the Library of Alexandria." Said Anubis as he rode on Ramiel alongside Ganesha who in turn rode on the back of the rat steed. They passed through the streets of what appeared to be a fairly vibrant trade city with apartment buildings around 3 story high with rectangular mud brown color, no doubt built from mud brick. Similar to how the homes of Egypt were. But the differences here was obvious with balconies were longer and more enclosed by the flats stacking on top of one another. There were also shaders hanging on the balconies as well making the place even more interesting and curious to Anubis's eyes. "Well our land is protected by the mountains of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush regions. The people here are living in what is at best a valley, a grand valley and our names have since become whispers in the wind, passing mentions by traders and merchants. The only ones we have the most contact with are the Middle Kingdom and the Land of the Rising Sun." Said Ganesha as they passed by some Chinese merchants selling silks from the Middle Kingdom with other merchants of their satrapies selling other goods like potteries and grains. "Well...at least having some contacts is better than none." Anubis shrugged at this as he soon arrived with Ganesha at the city's temple.

The temple of Ganesha, patron deity of the city received the best of worship from those who must live either by diligent of the hands or diligent of the mind. As they constructed a massive temple that was a testament to the craftsmanship of the Indus valley. White marble stones stacking up on top of one another with an assortment of colors being used to make the temple all the more splendid and pleasing to the eyes. Anubis gently walked into the temple courtyard with Ramiel, the two of them can see that the place was decorated by an assortment of trees and grasses so well trimmed that Anubis thought the ants were summoned to do the job. There was a pond too stretching from the gates towards the doorways of the temple, in the middle of the 20 meters long and 10 meters wide pond was a statue of Ganesha standing on a lotus.

"Impressive, most impressive." Anubis whistled and commented at the lavish and grandeur of the palace. The art style he can interpret as the Hindu's favoring of different colors and by extension, diverse style over one universal form. "Thank you Anubis, come let's get you inside and settle you in. And perhaps we can discuss our trade and diplomatic matters while you stay, I hear Egypt is quite a prosperous gateway for my Spices to reach other hungry mouths." Ganesha said courteously as the elephant headed Hindu deity led Anubis inside his temple to help him stay safe in the structure.

[hr]

Far from the shores of the colorful but obscured land of India, the civilizations of the Western Mediterranean were about to come to blow with one another. On the shores of Greece's city state of Syracuse, trade was occuring as usual with ships coming and leaving the city's port, on the horizon looking Eastward was Hellas, homeland of these settlers and colonists of distant lands. They left the rivalries of Sparta and Athen to settle on the shores of the island of Sicily, but they live at the foot of Mt. Etna, the place where the mythical Beast of Beasts dwell and anytime the mountain erupt, they fear the Beast within had awaken from its slumber. Unfortunately for the Syracusan, war has come to their home.

From the hills to the their Northwest and Western gates of the city, Roman Legions were seen marching towards them with banners and standards held high. Each Legions were composed of Velite skirmishers, Hastatis infantries, Principes heavy infantries, then finally at the very rear of the line, Triarii. On their flanks were Roman Equites, each infantry lines were placed like checkerboards with gaps in between them to allow the men to slip through easily so that they won't bump into each other and disrupt the order of battle. Their Military Tribune was seen riding on a horse shouting orders to his troops. "Onagers open fire! Level the walls!" Shouted the Tribune as his onagers began to fire their fiery projectiles at the wall of Syracuse, the civilians who were caught off guard ran away into their hovels and huts to hide from the incoming fire. The Syracusan defenders fired their own Onagers back at the invading Romans in a counter barrage to make sure their enemies were pelted properly.

The Legionnaires however were soon pushing their battering ramps and siege towers moving towards the wall. This led the Syracusan to fire their fire arrows at the tower, they keep fire their arrows in mass volleys to try and burn the towers, but the flames couldn't burn fast enough as the towers continue forward, some of them managed to reach the walls and the Hastati on the towers were seen dropping their ramps down and storm the Hoplites on the wall. The ensuring bloodbath would soon see the walls bloodied and stained by guts with the defenders falling down to the ground enmasse, Roman legionnaires were found among the dead as they batter through the gates of the city before Citizen Cavalry made a determined charge to repel the attackers. As the attackers ran towards them, the Hastati tossed out their Pilum spears at the Citizen Cavalries, dropping a number of them before the Legionnaires pushed forward with their Velites helping them by pelting the Syracusan Hoplites with their javelins. Once the velites skirmisher ran out of ammo, they turned around and ran behind the lines of the Hastati and Principes who then marched forward to take on the Hoplites in front of the Temple of Hermes.

The Hoplites held their formation with their shields overlapping one another like a segmented serpent scale with their spears pointing out at the charging Romans. The Principes came up to them to within a few yards, they tossed out their Pilums on the Hoplites, the blades of the pilums found some of their targets, impaling the Hoplites and pierced their armor. Then the Principes along with Hastati charged through, using their shields to bash the Hoplites to their left aside before thrusting their Gladius into the neck or chin of the Hoplites. The bloodbath continued with the Greeks impaling the Romans in their stomach, drawing blood and guts on the pavement of the temple while the Hastati and Principes were supported by their Equites running down the battered defenders. Out at sea, Syracusan fled from their lost hometown in drove as the Roman navy moved in to seal off the harbor.

The Romans soon hoisted their colors high as they topple the statue of Hermes from the Temple's ground and razed the city to the ground, looting and pillaging anyone who has anything of value on them. The scene of carnage soon followed throughout Hellas as Roman Legions march down from the Balkans and landing at Apollonia of Epirus, they pushed through the squabbling Greek city states and gradually overtaken one settlement at a time. By the second week of their invasion, Athen and Sparta had fallen and by the third week, the remaining Greek cities were allocated in the Anatolia, far from home, evicted and broken, there was nothing can be done, or was there?

[hr]

Alexandria's Port of Pharos, Egypt

News had spread far and wide of the invasion, the Roman invasion had caught the world of the Hellenic and Heliopolis Pantheons off guard, the Greek blockade of Alexandria became pointless as their commander was missing and not only that, their homes have been invaded and now they suddenly become homeless. They were stranded in far away lands and have no idea who should they fight, save for asking for a forfeit of conflict with their Egyptian host. A letter delivered by Athena's owl arrived at the window of Ra's chamber and Thoth informing them of the sudden invasion of Hellas by the Roman, in a month their homeland had been overrun and need to step on shore of Egypt to at least sustain themselves. The letter also stated that they wish to stop the supposed conflict between the two pantheons and civilizations. "It seems some reasons have been forced their way into the Greeks there." Said Anhur as he took a peak at the letter.

The sudden news gave Ra a fierce frown. The seemingly blind brutality of the Romans only gave him more than enough reason to start his angered rants agan. "What reason do they have to murder, and enslave the weaker nations?! Have they grown tired of the massive expansive territories they have already acquired?..." Ra said with a huff. He crossed his arms, and felt like a challenge was coming on. "I can show them a ar, and a make sure their army damn well burns under my sun!" Ra excalmined.

Thoth took the news equally as bad since he could barely muster any words of the incoming invasion. "Oh dear... Ra its not wise you take an entire army on your own, but… This situation does seem grim. They seem to be absolute warmonger and brute, but worst yet they are all on the verge of our doorstep. I'm afraid for self preservation we must ready our own troops…." Thoth said reluctantly.

Anhur sighed out disappointingly as he sat down on his chair and rubbed his head in frustration. "This is just perfect, the Romans have started a war, Anubis is still away in India for his own safety, and Hermes hasn't come back with him yet! I could use his wit by now to combat the Romans!" He roared out ferociously as the room remained in tense situation, they were soon joined by Athena who walked into the room with her spear and shield on both hands. "Ra, the majority of Greek refugees have landed in some settlements over the Aegean Sea. Pergamum, Nicomedia, Sardis, Rhodos and Egyptian settlements. They'll stay there until at least their homeland has been liberated." The Goddess of wisdom informed them with a sigh as she sat down by the table with the world map showing them the situation that was happening before them, the Romans had taken Hellas and Macedonia, even the island of Knossos where Zeus hid in his youth fell to the Romans. Interestingly enough for Ra, he saw that most of the landmass were colored in Green where the Pelopensia and Knossos were marked in blue. "Well, it seems the Romans aren't as friendly as he had thought. Even amongst themselves." Said Sekhmet in a sarcastic tone.

Thoth however took notice to this, and the divided sectors the Romans had. He walked over to the map thinking of how to use this to the Egyptians advantage. Seeing the division between each of the Roman faction thoth though he was thinking of a very devious method, and yet at the same time a possible necessary one. "Hold on one moment… Sekhmet you have given me a brilliant, and yet devious idea! Oh how this will work is brilliant, but the bloodshed would be immense! Not a good outcome, but a necessary one clearly." Thoth said. Ra however only tilted his head not seeing what Thoth was thinking of. "So what? They just have different families that argue and bumble like morons… How will that help us?" Ra asked impatiently. Thoth raised a ringer to announce his idea however in great detail, and even had a hopeful smile on his face. "Yes they maybe families, but what if we use that aggression towards towards each other in our own advantage? Somehow we may be able into using their foolishness into pointing their own blades towards each others necks. Cause a massive discord among their army, and have them turn on each other instead of turning on us!" Thoth exclaimed.

"So in a word, we turn their armies against one another. This might work. We need to know the political atmosphere of Rome. Who was your ambassador to the Romans?" Athena asked as the room fell into silent, it was clear that they only had either Horus or Anubis to be emissaries of Egypt to the other civilizations and Pantheons of the world. And now Anubis was away, Horus was busy settling Greeks in Asia Minor, they had no one to tap into the Roman Political World and assess the situation of their Senate debates. "We didn't have much of an emissary to Rome, in fact we didn't even have anyone to do so because none of us expect ourselves to engage with Rome diplomatically speaking." Said Anhur as he sighed out stroking his spear to give some respite.

Sekhmet nodded to her brother in this regard as she too disappointingly growl, "Egypt is not at war with Rome yet officially speaking but their aggressions and ambitions suggest that they will come into conflict with us sooner than later…." Said Sekhmet as she look back at the map. She noticed that to the North, the Gaul, Germania were painted in red color of the Julii family, the Iberia, Carthage, Sicily and Sardinia-Corsica were painted blue of the Scipii and the Balkans along with Greece and its outlying islands were painted in green of the Brutii. Beside the three families, she was unable to see the political attitudes of each families, let alone how to apply the divide and conquer strategem of Thoth to the scenario.

As the meeting went on, they heard the sound of a flaming chariot approaching the palace from above, the galloping sound was accompanied by a melodious high pitched male singing voice. The chariot came to a halt at the balcony and its rider was revealed to them, Apollo, God of Music and hunting, with him was Aphrodite. The two stepped into the chamber with Apollo strumming his lyre to announce his arrival. "I have arrrrrrrivvvvvveeeeeeddddd." He sung to them with a single note of music plucked from the strings. "Tragedies, calamity, bloodshed and tyranny ran unchecked as Hellas burn, Aphrodite and me were able to escape but with home to yearn." He sung again before being stopped by Aphrodite shoving his lyre up his mouth to have him literally eat his music notes.

If she could Aphrodite would have made a fierce growl in the current situation. She instead let off a huff, and moved closer to the meeting room with her arms crossed. The other deities saw that clearly the situation was making her a stressed out mess. "Apollo please. If anyone is going to be a diva it will be me… And really we don't' have time for this." She said in a surprisingly stern matter even causing Ra to grunt in shock. She placed her hands on her hips and walked like she owned the place by now. "I heard Anubis is gone. Where is he, and is he safe from those sweat brutes, and their empty headed leader?..." She asked with concern in her voice. She looked over to Thoth, but with a much softer look having known him to be softer.

Thoth nodded to her, and respectfully bowed his head. "We have sent Anubis off to India. Currently I believe he would be making peaceful negotiations, and acting as our ambassador for the Hindu deities. His location of course is left in secret." Thoth stated.

Ra nodded his head. "Yes and there is no way I'm letting a bunch of jocks know where he is just so they can bully him. They can have his location once they pull it from my shiny glowing hands. I guarantee no type of torture will sway me!" Ra announced beating his chest fiercely with one hand. "Come get me I say!" he shouted. He held his staff tightly in hand ready to get in a battle himself if the situation grew to that intensity.

"Well I hope that he is safe for the time being. For my music shall sway his heart to return!" Apollo raised his last note uphigh trying to give off a kind of special effect and show off his musical prowess that no one else wanted to hear due to the deity's insistence on showing off his talent. Luckily for him, Hermes wasn't here to bother him as the quickster was far away crossing the Hindu Kush and through the Indus valley down to India's heartland.

[hr]

Halfway across the world, the blurry streak that was Hermes sped his way across the land of India. Racing through rivers and valleys, over mountains and beyond the seas, he made his way down to India's Western Coast to search for Anubis. The pathway once used by Alexander and his army to cross into india from Persia served the deity well as he managed to navigate through difficult terrain and harsh landscapes of the Indian subcontinent and its jungles. However, he wasn't alone. As he was running through the jungle, he heard the sound of heavy grunting and exhaustive slashing and hacking of the dense vegetation. "Damn jungle, damn country and realm, why is it that India has to be so dense with vegetation and hot weather that boils a man in his armor?" It was Ares, no doubt about it. The God of War of the Spartans was marching through the jungle with his bulky shield and hulking sword, he slashed his way through the jungle and cut down the foliage of its vegetation to clear his way through.

Hermes's first thought was running up to have a friendly chat with his half brother, but he soon saw who was appearing to have an audience with Ares. From the shadow of the nearby trees, a figure rose up from the murky water and mist, revealing herself to be Izanami the Maiden of the Dead. "Ares...Ares...I know who you are looking for and I know where he hides!" Declared Izanami as she collapsed to her knees in front of Ares. "What! You know? Where is he, where is that mutt Anubis? I've been searching high and low across India and still no signs of him, how come you know?" Ares barraged his questions at Izanami in a forceful manner almost as if his limited rationality was in control briefly, dictating him to find as much information as possible from her.

Mercury ducked behind one of the bushes to keep his presence a secret to the other deities, and for a rare moment kept his mouth silent. He moved the branches out of the way to makes sure his quick eye was not miss-seeing the sight of the zombie-like Izanami before Ares. However, once he found Izanami to be controlling Ares somehow he gulped in a nervous way knowing Anubis was now in a more clear danger than before. However, the zombie like form of Izanami kept telling him to run like hell. Her decaying form gave him a feeling of terror, and sent a cold chill down him. He soon bolted through the jungle at top speed running through bush, shrub, and any vegetation below his feet. Occasionally he was forced to leap into the air to avoid tripping over a rock, and even vaulted over the occasional log that came in his way. The forest showed all the signs of purposely trying to stop him with how many different obstacles it laid before him. He then used some of the forest vines to swing on like Tarzan or a monkey before landing on his feet again to continue hsi mad dash back to the main camp.

Once clearing past the forest he ran through the Indian town, and found his way back to Anubis's place of hiding. Before Anubis even saw Mercury he felt the strong winds of him enter the room and the thundering sprint steps Mercury made each time he took a step. Once he saw Mercury he saw him to be anting from exhaustion which was odd for even him. Mercury weakly pointed a finger into the air and began to make a fear filled stutter trying to get his mouth to move properly. "Z-z-z-z- zomb- zom- zomb-..." Was all he could say until someone snapped some sense into him.

Anubis who was with Ganesha working some trade agreement between the two kingdom flabbergasted and fell to his back when he saw the Greek Messenger God ran into the place and stuttering incoherently. "What are you talking about Hermes and what are you doing here?" He barked out at Hermes and shot up from the collection of pillows he was sitting on, even Ganesha took Hermes's arrival very suddenly and was caught off guard by seeing the deity here. "Oh my, I did not expect anyone to be here so suddenly. Friend of your Anubis? I am growing increasingly jealous." The elephant headed deity who was lounging on a mattress with soft pillows next to Anubis mused while holding his lotus in hand. The jackal deity turned back to Ganesha and shrugged at the Hindu deity. "He's my friend but we haven't met for a while that is." Said Anubis as he tried to keep equal attention on Hermes and Ganesha.

Finally finding some kind of grip to hold onto metaphorically, Mercury gulped nervously. "Zombieeeeee! Izanami and my bro! She's putting the moves on him! He's into zombie chicks now! And they were talking like they knew each other for a while, but my bro is like hypnotized, and I don't know how! Ares is in India though and he's going after you! Izanami is kissing up to him, and says she knows where you are, but I don't know if she bluffing to smooch on Ares! Why is my brother such a dense headed guy?! For reals this is a new low for the guy man! A zombie! I never seen anything like that before I swear!" Mercury spoke in an extremely exhausted and quick manner. He shuddered again knowing Ares was planning something wicked with a zombie like deity. He continued breathing in and out as if he were hyperventilating though.

"WHAT!?" Anubis bellowed out outraged by the revelation, he find it hard to accept some of them at face value though he was willing to take the information with a grain of salt. He however heard the sound of Ares growling and shouting as he moved through the town. He lumbered forward and his armor clang hard against one another as he burst through the gates of the temple with Izanami by his side. She cackled sinisterly as she pointed Ares to the temple. "There, behind those doors is Anubis, hiding behind the fat and chubby form of Ganesha." She chuckled to him. Ares grinned with his eyes red with bloodlust, he saw for a brief moment a glimpse of Anubis's silhouette on the second floor of the temple with candles and torches inside the place lit up. "Finally...justice for Zeus and Olympus!" He proclaimed holding his sword up high.

"Ares!" Ganesha shouted out from his balcony. "Before you lies two paths, one to peace and one to war. Should you chose to escalate this manhunt any further, you will inevitably lead to war and endless misery for yourself." Said Ganesha as he held his dagger, tusk, fruit bowl and lotus in his hands. However Ares huffed out at him as he marched forward to the temple's doors. "I am the God of War." Said Ares as he kicked down the door and charged inside with Izanami following him with her sickle blades held in hands to the second floor. "Well so much for diplomacy. Good thing I am armed." Said Anubis as he draws out his Xiphos blade and swung it around in hand readying himself for a confrontation with Ares.

Mercury however shook his head at a rapid speed while his body shook with fear. "Nuh-uh! No way man! Imena have you been brothers with Ares man! He give the worst wedgies in all of the Greek pantheon, and when he gives you a noogie it feels like your skull is being crushed! And now he's with a zombie! She's going to give him and hickey on the neck, and it will be all over then! Ares as a zombie! My two greatest fears together in one body, and in the bulk body of Ares! He's already has no brain in him! How's he supposed to be a zombie come oooooon!" Mercury shouted while making a fearful cry. However, Ganesha could tell he purposely made himself look like a coward, and overacted his emotions.

"Die you mutt!" Ares plowed through screaming his curses at Anubis, but as he did, he failed to realize that Anubis was standing still like a statue in front of him almost like taunting him to come forward for some reasons. This was soon revealed to him when he fell down on the floor due to a strip of mummy bandage strung up by Anubis to use as tripwire against him. Anubis then fired his mummification bandages at Ares and quickly summoned his Grasping Hands on both the God of War the Maiden of the Dead, "Gragh! You idiot meat sack why is it that you have to-" Izanami was cut short when she heard the voice of Ganesha firing his Turn of Fate attack on her. "Don't fear them friend!" The elephant headed deity said.

The seal with his name on it flew at her face and Ares, giving them searing heat and pain as Ares bashed his shield and charge forward. "Follow my lead!" Then Ares fired his chains at Ares, tying him down and used his shield as a flamethrower on Ganesha. Despite the heat and restraints, Ganesha refused to back down, as he used his Ohm attack to silent Ares and Izanami, preventing them from ever able to use their attacks on him and Anubis. The Jackal deity levitated up to the air and fired his Gaze of Death at the two, his heat vision seared through Ares's shield and struck Izanami's chest throwing her against the wall and slammed into the statue of Ganesha on it. "My apologies Ganesha." Said Anubis as he landed down on the ground. "Worry not, I can always have it replace." The elephant jubilantly replied to the jackal.

"You'll pay for this you fat elephant chubby curry belly!" The maiden of the dead cursed in her breath as she threw her karmic sickles furiously at them, the sickles slashed across their bodies inflicting wounds on both Ganesha and Anubis, the two flinched and collapsed to their knees, grunting as the blades flew forward, Anubis quickly grab the table that was nearby and held it out as a shield to protect them from her attacks. She cackled menacingly like a psychotic maniac as she melted away into the underworld and stealthed herself as she moved to flank them. "This is my hunt! My prey!" Ares shouted as slash the table apart with his sword and summoned his chains to strap Anubis and Gansha together, he slammed the both of them into his shield's face, giving Izanami the chance to fire her projections at the two, pelting and slowing them down.

"Don't forget about me! Because I have a bone to pick with Anubis as well! Get it, Annie? Bone?" She let out a ferocious howl after pelting Anubis with her projections before seeing Ares rushing in with his sword raised ready to strike the killing blow on Anubis. "You will go no further!" Said Ganesha as he summoned a quartet of Dharmic Pillars, they created a flaming square grid around Ares before pummeling himself into the God of War and punch up the deity, this left Ares dazed and stunned by the sudden attack of the chubby, towering Guardian. "Let the eternal darkness embrace you!" Anubis quickly slammed his scepter on the ground opening a portal under Ares's feet, letting the hands of the dead tucked his feet and yanked him down. Anubis did not relent and fire his Gaze of Death at Ares's neck, where his armor had a weak spot and blasted him flying out of the palace.

Seeing that the battle has turned against her favor, Izanami quickly melted away into the Underworld and run as far as possible to where Ares was. The God of war was struggling to get up from the blast of Anubis's Gaze of Death, he saw that the jackal deity himself was much more powerful than he thought, especially with another deity assisting him. Izanami popped up next to him from underground and helped him up to his feet, cracking a few bones in her body in the process due to her frail form compared to his masculine stature. "Well now...what does a Spartan do when his battle is lost?" She snarked, much to his chagrin. He huffed out and grunted feeling rather embarrassed by the defeat but at the same time, he noticed that his own power was not as potent as he had hoped for, perhaps something had happened to Sparta? "We regroup and fight again...some other time and place." Said Ares as he reluctantly ran away from the temple with her.

"That should keep them out for now. But...he was manageable, not like every other days, Sparta is in peril for him to be weak like that." Anubis assessed as he closed the windows of the second floor and turned to face Hermes and noticed that Hermes was having a scar on his right cheek, when they last met and even when Hermes was running across the world, he didn't have a scar on his cheek and it wasn't bleeding then. "Hermes, you're bleeding, a scar on your face! Something's not right, the whole of Hellas is at risk!" He realized with a yelp escaping his mouth.

Hermes's eyes suddenly widened, and he placed a couple of fingers, from his right hand, on the side of his face that was bleeding. He felt the tips of his fingers covered in the warm red liquid that was his blood, but also felt an intense stinging pain that was the cut screaming at him. He winced both in pain and disgust, but Anubis could tell Hermes was squeamish around the sight of blood. "Oh now would you look at that… I'm bleeding… Oh by the gods that my blood…" Heremes said as he began to make a slow pant. "Hey did the world get lighter, or is that my head spinning round and round and round…" Mercury said right as his knees began to tremble and shake. He seems to have trouble holding himself up with his own strength as well. Clearly he's not a fan of blood.

Anubis quickly ran up to him and hold him still in his hand before gently laying him down on the soft pillows of the place, Ganesha would then used his multiple hands to massage and cast healing spell on him. "Anubis, I fear you must return to Egypt now, it seemed that your homeland is in danger and I fear that danger may have struck Hermes at his own home, his worshippers." Said Ganesha as he held out his hands channeling the mana from within his body and blew out a colorful smoke powder from his trunk, the smoke covered Anubis and Hermes in a thick purple fog, healing them all of the wounds from the battle before. "Who's to say that danger won't threaten my homeland now that it has threatened Hermes's? I'll go right away, I think our diplomatic mission will have to wait." Said Anubis as he ran to the wardrobe and opened the doors, he picked out his limited number of clothes and garments before packing them into his luggage. The jackal deity then put his luggage together into one place, just a single wrapped up bag at best and one that Ramiel can carry. "Come on Hermes let's get down to meet Ramiel." Said Anubis as he ran down with Hermes to the stable of the temple where Ramiel was resting.

Ganesha followed them closely as he saw just how concern Anubis was of his homeland, the lack of letters and messages for his own safeties surely has taken a nasty toll on him as his face seems to have wrinkled somewhat from the isolation and sheltering that has lasted a month. "Ramiel! Come on boy, let's go home." He whistled to the equine, hearing its whirring in reply as the stallion went out of its stall to allow Anubis to mount on its back. "Anubis, before you go, take this with you." Ganesha handed him a scroll, its cover was a wooden engraved piece with a seal of Ganesha's initial written in Sanskrit scribe. "With my blessing, I shall give Egypt some favors with the spice trade across the Indian ocean. I bless you with fortune on your journey home." Said Ganesha as Anubis looked over the content of the scroll, the details of it said that Ganesha had agreed in advance to Egypt and India's spice trade and the tariffs that entail between the two. "Thank you Ganesha, I hope to see you again one day, soon enough I hope." He then began to cast his teleportation spell on himself and the horse as a circle under his feet glew brilliant radiant of the sun with Egyptian hieroglyphs decorating its lines. The light would soon engulf Hermes as well and send the two flying across Space back to Egypt.

[hr]

But while Anubis and Hermes were returning to Egypt, the war would soon drag new combatants into the struggle. On the shores of the Anatolia's Southwestern coast, the settlement of Halicarnassus sat silently under the hilltop where the Mausoleum perched, the inhabitants there were a mixture of ethnicity, Greeks, Egyptian colonists and even some from the Anatolia while others were Greek refugees hastily resettled in the city. There was an air of dread and despair in the city as the refugees were forced to leave their homes with their temples desecrated and their statue of Zeus at Olympia was taken by the enemies. Out at sea, the flotilla of patrol ships move about watching over the various trade and transport ships coming in and out of the harbor.

There was no wall to protect the settlement as it was rather small, a recently built colony by Egyptian colonists. The buildings however were limestone structures with red brick rooftops like the Greeks. As the city went about its daily life, it did not expect to see a fleet of Roman galleys moving towards the settlement. The people there screamed in fear when one of the town guards called out the Roman's signature emblem of SPQR and an Eagle standing over the words. The fleet came close to the settlement and fired their ballisteas and onagers at the city, the shots were flaming projectiles meant to give the populace there a dose of Roman terror. As fire spread throughout the settlement from the shots, Roman Legionnaires began to disembark on the beaches of the settlement assembling into their formations waiting for the handful of Town Guards and the over abundant of civilians to run out to meet their swords. As the fleet pushed into the settlement's port, the flotilla hastily fired their fire arrows on the sails of the fleet, trying to incinerate their enemies with clever tactics while two others were ramming against a single target. The ramming ships were able to tear off a galley into two pieces and let it sink into the ocean but they were unable to fend off the other galleys outmaneuvering them. To make matters worse, they saw the populace they were meant to protect being put to the sword by Roman Legionnaires, each one taking a stab at the fleeing populace as the defenseless people were caught in a rock and hard place. By the end of the day, the settlement of Halicarnassus was burned to the ground with its populace murdered to make way for Rome's new Military Colony.

[hr]

As the sun sets in Egypt, the light of Anubis and Hermes teleportation zapped them back to the gates of Alexandria, they landed and materialize themselves at the Eastern Gates where much to Anubis's surprise, he saw that the refugees and populace who fled the city were returning in drove, the city didn't see any damages whatsoever, it was as if a battle didn't occur at all, which was thankful to say the least. The Greek Army and Navy was seen ashore and in the harbors with the troops gathered into hastily erected camps and other major barracks of the army. Anubis took a glance and saw that the Egyptian and Greeks there recognize him still and bowed to his presence as they went back inside the city.

Mercury still with Anubis sighed in relief once the two of them made it back. Mercury was in even more relife once he saw the city was not yet attacked, and was relatively in one piece. Seeing the residence and citizens bow to Anubis made him chuckle, and nudge Anubis in his shoulder a couple of times. "Ey how's that royal welcoming wagon treating yah? Probably feels good right? I mean you got all the chicks bowing to yah and all the guys wanting' to be yah! That or they are bwoing as well. Whichever way you swing around." Mercury said quickly waving to the civilians. "People your champion has arrived!" he said raising Anubis's hand in the air.

The populace of Alexandria would then burst out in cheer seeing that their most familiar face of their native pantheons have returned, they and him were alike, he did not wish to leave them and now being back in their embrace gave him a sense of relief, to be at home and with families and friends, but the jackal was an insightful figure, he saw that the Greek Hoplites were not as excited as the native Egyptian and he quickly dismounted and approached one of them, a captain of the army who was wearing a Corinthian helmet with his bronze body armor. "You there, what happened while I was gone?" He asked curiously but keep his composure to the officer.

"I'm afraid that we have become what others stereotyped us as. Refugees. Our homeland has been invaded by the Sons of Mars or Ares if you will...The Romans overran Hellas, Epirus, Macedonia, Knossos. All in a month." The captain sighed out disappointingly as he sat down by the campfire of his men and mourn the loss of his homeland. Anubis himself was taken aback by the revelation of the situation and widened his eyes to hear this. It was not only unexpected but also outrageous to hear that war has occured while he was away from the general political matters of the region. "Hermes, we need to get to the palace, now! You go first and inform them that I'm home, I'll catch up with Ramiel." He then quickly ran up to Ramiel and mounted on the horse's back and prepare stir up the stallion to gallop to the palace.

Hermes made a salute so fast that the blink of the eye would have missed him raising his right hand to his forehead. He made a standing jog, and then bolted with a speed so great a gust of wind followed behind him. Even the winds and air had trouble keeping up with the quick deity. He zigzagged through the streets of Alexandria kicking up loose dust from where any dust particle would lay while stray piece of debris kicked up into the air. Expertly, he would dash and evade many of the residence of the Egyptian street, and occasionally vault over many street vendors, and their carts in the street. "S'cuse me! Pardon me! Outta the way! Deity on a mission! Nice hat!" He would say quickly to many of the residence. Once he reach the gates of the palace he found the nice palace to contrast the chaos of the current situation happening in the realm. He raced to the front entrance, and stopped immediately sticking his stop in place. He then knocked on the door with a tap so fast it made a glitching buzzing noise.

Of course the noise was heard by the ears of Ra. He raised his head up from his hands, and looked into the general direction the buzzing noise was coming from, and recognized it to be Hermes who was at the door. Ra sighed and grumbled releasing Apollo and Hermes would be in the same vicinity together very shortly. "Oh dear me! Not another one! Someone answer the door! Tell him I'm taking a sunbath!" Ra shouted as he tried to run away from his throne to avoid the headache of talking to Mercury.

"Allow to take this guest!" Apollo raised his notes as he walked over to the door humming musical notes in his mouth, from the Do to the Mi to the Sol notes, he hummed and whistle before opening the doors of the place and saw his mischievous brother, he felt the musical notes literally left him the moment the sight of the quickster fell into his eyes. "Oh it's you Hermes, and I'm Apollo! The shepherd who lost his flock, do not forget that game! Do not forget it! Messenger of the Gods." Apollo sang out to Hermes, clearly failing to take his situation seriously, let alone showing self control of his own musical notes and singing habit. However, he didn't get to unload his frustration on Apollo yet, he saw that Anubis was running up behind Apollo huffing out exhaustively with a scroll in hand and barging into the room, "I've returned...with some words...from Ganesha…" Said Anubis as he handed the scroll to Ra before collapsing to his knees exhaustively.

The note was of great interest to Ra, and he put aside the distractions of the brother deities in the room with him as he opened the note. "Let's see here… I swear if this another declaration of war I'll-" Ra stopped his grumpy statement and felt a huge sense of surprise causes his heart to jump for joy. He read the message that Ganesha sent over and over almost in a great joy to know Anubis's peace mission had gone well, but more so the valuable spices of India would be soon making their way to the deserts of Egypt. "Oh my lord! Anubis you great hound of the dead you've done it!" Ra said in excitement. He bent over to lift Anubis up by his armpit and dust the jackal off. "My word boy what are you doing on the floor. You should be proud that your mission has gone beyond my expectations. Thank the sun!" Ra shouted overjoyed.

Anubis huffed out exhaustively, showing that he had been climbing the stairs of Gods knows how many floors before getting to Ra. "I was told...by the Greeks camping outside of town that...the Romans had declared war and taken Hellas." He coughed out a bit from the intense exercise he went through. Isis who was in the other room heard the voice of Anubis and quickly bursted out running towards him and embrace him into her arms. "My son! You are safe! Thank the heavens that you are home." She sobbed out as her arms cuddle Anubis into her warm embrace. The jackal whimpered at this but hugged her back into him, "I'm glad to see you again too mother...how is everything here?" He asked her.

"Most troubling, no doubt about it. I had to help the Greek deities settle here as Pantheon in exile, even helping to feed the Greek army that landed here now that they too have lost their homeland." Said Isis as she led Anubis into a his room where much to his surprise, Aphrodite was waiting for him there. "Aphrodite, I think someone here wants to meet you." Said Isis as she ushered Anubis into the room smiling happily before leaving to inform Thoth and Khepri.

Aphrodite raised her head up, and gasped out loud at the sight of Anubis in the room with her. She quickly dusted herself up, and spun a finger in quick circle to fix her hair, and make her overall appearance look more decent. "Anubis! My hunk of a jackal has come home to me!" She yelled aloud. She then ran over to Anubis, and very quickly wrapped her more delicate arms around his body, and pressed the side of her face into his muscular chest giving him a tight embrace. "Oh missed you! Sorry about my look darling, but this whole thing with the Romans going to war has been totally messing with me! I can't get any beautyrest knowing my home is being destroyed by those brutes…" She said as he looked into Anubis's eyes. However, she saw that he appeared to be exhausted of energy as well. "And you don't look too well either love. I could fix that with a few magic of my own." She recommended.

Anubis nodded to her and sighed out in relief, relaxing himself now that he was in the company of family and relatives of the palace and back in Egypt. "Thanks Aphrodite, It wasn't easy back there since I had to fight with Ares and Izanami. They could have killed me if it weren't for Ganesha's help. But beating up your brother was no easy task but I survived nonetheless." He said to her, giving the Goddess of beauty and Fertility a hug and kissed her forehead and rested her head on his chest to give her comfort while looking out of the balcony. His eyes pierced through the night and saw a silhouette of a bird, a falcon was flying into his room. The bird arrived at the balcony and landed on its feet before shapeshifting back into Horus, he too seemed to be shocked and frantic by something but was glad to see his brother again. "Anubis! Thank goodness that you're home, something terrible has happened in Halicarnassus, the Romans they came and attack the Egyptian colonists there and burned the place before murdering the colonists and refugees there!" Horus informed them with a panicking expression on his face. Anubis gasped and growled out hearing this, the aggression of the Romans truly had reached the point of unforgivable offense to the Egyptian. "I know Anubis, I was overseeing the resettlement of the Greek refugees in the Anatolia and our settlements when the surviving garrison fleet of the Halicarnassus settlement ran to me and inform me of what happened." Said Horus as Anubis frowned and balled his fist up before throwing a knife at the map on the wall of his room, it landed on Rome and stick to it. The fury and outrage Anubis display seems to be an indication that he was about to unleash a furious blow that no one, not even other deities can control.

Anubis's anger however did have a potency to affect those around him. He heard Aphrodite make a startled eeping sound. She backed up lightly in shock by Anubis's wrath, and could even see that the grave hound had blood in his was in the air and truly Anubis would bring it to his revival in swift vengeance. "Uh… Hun maybe you should take a chillaxing moment… Seriously.. You're scaring me…" Aphrodite said trembling slightly. She gulped thinking the massive grave the Romans had dug for themselves would soon be filling by Anubis's hand.

Anubis huffed out as he gripped the table in his room with a sturdy but also extremely powerful grip that can make cinder blocks crumble to pieces. "I will...as soon as I bring the Senate to its knees for unprovoked aggressions." Said Anubis as he and Horus went out of the room and ran to spread the words around the palace. Horus went to Ra first while Anubis ran downstairs to bring the news to Thoth's ears. "Thoth! Thoth!" He called out as he ran into the small Library section of the palace where the place had a domed roof with skylight that would please Thoth's liking. "The Romans have attacked us, at Halicarnassus, they butchered the population there without mercy!" Said Anubis as he ran up to Thoth's back.

Thoth at the time was painting on a canvas held up by a canvas holder of a tan wooden color. He appeared to be using his fingers to paint, but at the sight of Anubis, and the dreaded news his own beak fell open at the sight of Anubis, but the news as well that the Roman war mongers have struck again, and this time at an allied pantheon. However, Thoth was too caught up at the sight of Anubis before him. He forgot his painting and ran over to Anubis to embrace him in a hug. "My word! What has come up in this world?! Have they got no restraint on their fury, and rage, or are these Romans just murderous war pig that act on instinct to kill?..." Thoth asked to himself as he still hugged Anubis in. "My goodness though am I glad to see your safe return in one piece my friend… Thanks the moon!" Thoth exclaimed having to clear his throat out.

Anubis sighed out and patted Thoth gently on his back. "I'm glad to be back too Thoth. At least my mission in India is a success, Ganesha agreed to more favorable spice trade with us. But right now...concerns are on the Romans." Said Anubis as he led Thoth out of the Library to meet up with Ra and Horus as well as other major members of the Heliopolis Pantheon's Council. The moment Anubis went out to the atrium with Thoth, he saw that Roman guards were seen escorting an emissary into the palace. He was dressed in a white toga, his hair was grey and balding with brown eyes with a plumb stature. He walked into the atrium and held out his right arm in a Roman salute at Anubis and Thoth. "Ave Caesar, I, Sextus Gaius Flaminius am emissary of Rome to your Pantheon and Rulers and you shall show me to your superiors to hear our terms." Said the emissary in a strict and stern tone though Anubis was not impressed with the arrival of the emissary.

The presence of a rival emissary in the room only gave Thoth more concern of the type of terms the Roman ways to announce to the Egyptian pantheon. Thoth knew by now this could be very well the Romans politely asking for a quick surrender by the Egyptians as a testament to their strength, but Thoth also thought on this being some type of peaceful arrangement. Thoth stood his ground and lead into Anubis's ears to whisper into them. "I can't quite figure this one out, but I know of one way to find out what they desire." Thoth said clearing his throat out. He looked to the emissary, and made sure to look firmly in his eyes to show he wasn't afraid. "Right. Might you tell us which family you are speaking for, and/or are from sir?" Thoth asked.

"I am from the Genus Brutii of Rome. We are the upholders of Rome's tradition and values as we are one of her founders." Said the Emissary as he followed Anubis and Thoth into a meeting room to meet with the council. There Ra, Sekhmet, Anhur, Thoth assumed their positions while Anubis and Horus stood with the emissary as the deliberation begins. "You insulted Rome!" He bellowed out to the Egyptian and Greek deities who were in the room. "You've sheltered the enemies of the Senate of the people of Rome!" He cried out, prompting Horus to retort back at him. "You warpigs can't stand still in your own villas, can't you?"; "I will remind you! The last time Carthage resisted Rome, their city was reduced to ashes and their people sold to slavery! Those who didn't greet the dirt with open arms, like the Gauls and the Barbarians in the forest of the North, we sent them to meet Pluto in his fiery pit. The Mediterranean is undoubtedly ours. Not yours!" He pointed his finger at Anubis's face mockingly before continuing. "You give us whatever scraps of it you held while you and your Hoplites scurry back to your barbaric fishing villages. And I am sent here to ask you to decide between peace and open conflict, as if you truly have a choice!" He emphasized as he took a step closer to Anubis. By now hearing the tiresome and outright war begging words of a Roman has worn Anubis's peaceful intentions out, he grabbed the Xiphos's hilt and made a slash across the emissary's neck, sending his head flying into the air before landing on the ground. "I choose war." He uttered before clenching his hand, choking the life out of the entourage of the Emissary.

As the head of the emissary rolled away, and the blood of the man spurted and squirted out of his severed neck, Thoth cringed at the sight, and opted to back away. However, Anubis's aggression surely meant that now war was surely just around the corner for the entire Egyptian pantheon. Thoth sighed and carefully thought of the repercussions this would have. "As expected… He was here to challenge us. Typical as I can see by now of their empire. All guts, and clearly no glory... " Thoth remarked now opening his book to write the name of the deceased emissary in it.

Ra himself was huffing in and out feeling just as much rage as Anubis. He levitated over to the jackal and patted his back. "Let's face that facts. He wasn't going to last much longer in that pompous body of his. Either die in war, or die of a heart attack… I'm honestly shocked he was stupid enough to challenge a deity while he was a mortal…" Ra said only managing to shrug. "Welp. Off to war I suppose. By now there is nothing we could do to stop this…" Ra spoke with a cynical tone.

Anubis would then pick up the head of Sextus and tossed it to the hand of one of the shaken entourage member, he grabbed it though with a weak and frighten hand holding the severed head and stared into the paled eyes of the emissary. "Go back to Rome. Tell them this, start wailing." Anubis threatened the entourage who then proceed to run away from them out of the palace and presumably out to the city port, and return to Rome in the process, Anubis himself looked back to Anhur and Sekhmet seemingly to ask the council a question. "So it is then...we are going to war but who shall lead our army? And where to strike?" Isis asked Ra before eyeing Anubis and Sekhmet briefly, Athena stood back as she was not a member of the Egyptian Council and court, her eyes however gleam with judgement and approval to Anubis's action, he may have led a campaign against Nubia before under the mentorship of Anhur and Sekhmet, the same happened during his campaign against the Seleucids. However, the Romans were not like rump states or back water kingdoms at the end of the world.

Ra looked to Anubis, Sekhmet, and even Anhur knowing that two of the deities were masters of war and combat tactics. However, he knew that after experiencing a traumatic childhood, and faced with the abusive father, Set, Ra felt a need to appoint Anubis to lead this assault. He smirked in a confident manner and pointed his finger to the three. "Well I think my decision is just when I choose these three to lead us. I know Sekhmet with her fury will offer no remorse, and won't hold back her fury. Anhur with with his ken strategies will offer a sort of balance, and strategic standpoint. And oh-ho… Anubis I know will plague each and everyone of them. I think his childhood speak wonders for him, and how he was trained. Wouldn't you all agree?" Ra stated.

Isis nodded to Ra's words and Anhur second her notion as he vouched for Anubis's position as the leader of the military. "I agree, I saw how he performed when he invaded the Nubians to lay claim to the riches of the land of the Blue Nile. His innovative use of the bushes and small groups and ambushes, rendered the Nubian's massive army meaningless as they were divided into small pieces." Sekhmet would then join in and recount her experience of seeing the two brothers Anubis and Horus laying siege to Antioch. "I too have seen their skill and crafty nature in battle. At Antioch they topple the defenders by simply sailing their ships around the harbor and fired their arrows on the defenders of the city wall. It makes storming the place to bathe in blood so much easier." Said Sekhmet as she mused on the memories of the carnage, clearly she was more into the bloodbath than the actual brilliant of the battle tactics employed by Anubis and Horus.

"I agree to their notion, as Anubis have demonstrated great ingenuity against enemy forts and walls. The Romans seem to display a love for wall, who else is better to humble their feats?" Asked Athena half jokingly but in a truthful assessment of the methods Anubis would have in mind.

Athena's remarks on the wall got Ra to make a hearty laugh. "Well then. It's settled. We will decimate the Romans at their own game. Topple their walls before they even have a chance to finish them." Ra stated. However, he brought a hand to his beak to scratch in thought. He knew that with the deities he's selected Egypt would have a fighting chance, but there was the issue on the army they would need to recruit to stand a fighting chance. "Now who do we recruit? Our army is meager, and… Smaller compared to the hulking beast that is the damned Romans…" Ra stated as a grumble. He grew more nervous thinking about Egypt's forces compared to Rome's.

This led Thoth to walk over to Anubis and conversate on him on this topic. Thoth recalled Anubis at a young age having a particular ability he used time and time again to achieve a specific goal. "Anubis. Do you recall that summoning skill you have? We used it in the realm of the dead when we created those beacons, and then again after that a couple of times." Thoth said reminding Anubis of his past. He made a confident smile to Anubis knowing he was well aware of his powers at this point.

Anubis nodded to Thoth as he put his hands on Thoth's shoulders. "I know that, you told me to be careful with its usages. But here and now, I may need to summon the dead from their graves to struggle against the Romans." Anubis then looked out of the room at the local army barrack of the home guard army of Ra, "Ra, I need to head to the local barracks to gather weapons. I can summon the men but they need weapons." Said Anubis as he moved his wrists in an exercising manner to prepare himself for some works to do in the coming moment. Anhur and Sekhmet nodded to Ra hearing what Anubis had said to him. "He has a point, after all, not all souls may have up to date weaponry that maybe needed for them to go into battles." Said Anhur.

With that in mind Ra nodded his head, and carefully thought on the repercussions this may have as well. The weapons he knew weer in relatively good condition, but his main concern was on how the souls of the dead would react to being used and brought out of their eternal resting grounds. "Hmmm…. Anubis you have my permission to use whatever weapon you can grasp and wield with your strength. However, be mindful who you resurrect. That's my greatest fear if some may use this to their own advantage, or if the dead in question is against being resurrected. Some may choose to rest. This is an odd factor we are playing at here, but under these terms I think we may need to think outside of the box. Also if you could please do some weapons management." Ra said.

Anubis nodded and bowed his head respectfully to Ra. "I will." He then turned to the exit of the room and began to make his way out of it with Anhur, Sekhmet and Thoth following him. "Time to gather an army. Free of charge that is." Said Anubis in a sarcastic manner as he mounted on the back of Ramiel while Thoth climbed on Sophia, Anhur and Sekhmet however prefered their age old chariots and rode behind Anubis with Horus riding on the chariot with them. They raced through the city of Alexandria with little to no time to lose, once they have arrived at the barracks, the troops there were of mixed Greek and Egyptian origins as they dressed in Corinthian helmet and bronze armor with Hoplos shields on their hands. When they saw Anubis riding in, they stood at attention with their shields standing straight up. "The Strategos has arrived!" Shouted the men inside the barracks as the troops there scramble to attend Anubis's arrival with Thoth. He dismounted from Ramiel's back and walked to inspect the troops seeing that they were around reasonable readiness level but nowhere near that of the Romans who had by now no doubt been battle hardened. "How many men do you have in this city alone?" Asked Anubis.

"Around 45000 men my lord, some of whom are ready to fight, numbered by around 16000 of them. The others need more time to be trained and ready for battle." Anubis nodded hearing this statement but the assessment disappointed him. Knowing that if he take the armies he has in Alexandria right now, he only have a quarter at best of an entire Roman Legion, when one counts numbers, training and weaponry as well as tactics. "Then I'll recruit some new men for you then." He replied. Anubis would then draw his summoning symbol on the ground of the barracks, he then focus his Mana on the spell he was about to use and chanted "Συγκεντρώστε σάρκα και οστά, ανανεώστε τα νεύρα σας. Για τις κύριες κλήσεις σας. Το καθήκον καλεί και τιμά δεσμεύεται. O 'Αθάνατοι αυτοί να ανέβουν και να πάρουν τα χέρια σας." He slammed his palms on the ground and on the Western horizon, the cyan light of the soul dead was followed by flaming orbs flying towards the barracks's drill yard, The flaming fireballs slammed down on the ground and morphed into armor suits with craftsmanship of Greece and the artistic style of Egypt. They bore the symbol of an Ankh on their shoulder plate, denoting they were of Anubis's command. "An additional 20000 men, this number would be 36000, just enough to take on a Roman Legion." Said Anubis as he inspect the troops with Anhur and Sekhmet. Horus followed them looking at the armor suits they use, the eye sockets and inner torso were flaming blue resins of souls.

Thoth gulped seeing the overwhelming number of souls now at the battlefield. They gave him a slight chills down his neck, but to his surprise each one of the souls stood with confidence, and lacked any type of hesitation to fight. Thoth walked among the souls of the dead noting that they each looked identical and each bore similar armor with very little difference. "This could lead to some issue. Each one looks exactly like the other!" Thoth stated giving a slight laugh. He looked back to ANubis, and stood still among the soldiers also noting Anubis's taste in design. "I take it you still enjoy Hellenic design judging by each of the troops here. Oh how this would be massive shock to the Romans. They won't realize that they are fighting souls until it's too late. I can only assume how they would react." Thoth said astounded by the quick work Anubis did.

"Not only that, since these are presumably Greek souls with Egyptians mixed into them, maybe we'll be able to train them quickly and easily. Am I right brother?" Horus asked jokingly as he inspect a pike of the barrack's armory. He found the pike to be of Macedonian origin, longer than that of the Greeks, 16-18 feet long and obviously meant to keep the enemies at a longer distance than the Greeks. "The look was the least of my concern but now, I think our army has been assembled. Let's get to the war room." Anubis then walked into the planning room of the Barracks where they were presented with a map of the Mediterranean world and the Norse Pantheon's realm. Anubis looked at the map seeing that the recent development had placed the Romans in Halicarnassus, the Brutii family in fact as the place was marked in green. The nearest jump off point for them to invade was the island of Rhodos, the problem was getting from Alexandria to Rhodos. The Roman Navy by now would no doubt be probing the naval activities of Egypt in the Mediterranean stretching from the Allied settlement of Rhodos to the far coast of Cyrenaica in Libya. "If we are caught by just one Roman fleet then we will lose valuable time, we will need to get to Rhodos as fast as we can to disembark our troops there and prepare for the invasion." Said Anubis as he took a look at the map, showing that if they stick to the coast and safety of Judea, Salamis of Cyprus and Antioch they might be able to reinforce their own fleet easily but will need to take a long way around.

Thoth looked to the map, and felt a rush go over him feeling the impending battles, and war that was now occurring rushing through him. Some of his feathers even rose a bit at the thoughts. The plan seems to be a logical one is his mind as well knowing by now the Roman's naval forces were one of the strongest in the pantheon. "Good thinking. Let's not engage them head on until we are read to do so first off. Now what strategy have you formulated if in case we come across their brutal forces?" Thoth asked. Looking again at the map the possibility of a rogue attack was decreased, but being himself it was always good to have a backup plan.

Anubis would then begin to put naval pieces on the table to illustrate his exercise of tactical and strategic thinking to Thoth and Anhur. This was his test to show that he can indeed prepare and execute his grand strategies. "First, our transports will ferry the men straight to Rhodos, on our flanks and front are assault ships and skirmish ships of the Navy to protect the more vulnerable transports. If we encounter Roman fleets, our Skirmisher will first engage the Roman ships with their fire weapons and fire pots. Our assault ships can then move in and ramp the enemy vessels to cut down their formations first before exploiting a hole in their lines."

Horus took a look at the methods, and nodded to Anubis listening closely to the General's instructions, Horus stroke the underside of his beaks and added his words. "Perhaps I can be your eyes for the invasion force. If I see a Roman fleet I will call it in to let you know when and where to evade. A zig zag maneuver will help us to reach Rhodos with the Romans confused as to our intentions."

Anubis sighed out looking at the table, he held no such illusion of being able to evade the Roman fleets that easily though, a plan can not survive without contact with the enemies. This he knew well. "Our ships and that of the Greeks are the best naval vessels in the world alongside that of Carthage, but the Romans had the advantage of boarding ramps to help move their legionnaires onboard our own ships." Anubis contemplated remembering the naval engagements between Carthage and Rome. "We need to fight at distance, keep ourselves on the move and prevent the Romans from ever catching us, speed and maneuverability are our greatest assets." Said Anubis as he looked over to the known fleets the Romans had in the region. There was a large number of Roman Classis to patrol the Mediterranean, but the question was...how many per fleet?

"Hmmmm, they can't have paid for having massive fleets like those moving about like that? Can they? It would be impossible for them to do so given that their current economy is burdened with problems regarding taxes and other factors." Said Anhur as he showed them some reports by the Greek navies who fled their homelands of Hellas, the reports were...insightful to say the least, as it told that the Roman Navy at the beginning of the war had concentrated fleets moving their troops to invade Hellas to deny Greek Navies of their ports and Docks. But as the war dragged on at sea, the Romans had to divide their fleet into small sections of around 5 to 6 ships to move patrol and cover large bodies of water.

The apparent economic troubles the Roman navies had caused Thoth to grunt in surprise. Clearly the displacement, and smaller number of ships covering the massive expanse of the sea gave Thoth a hint the Romans couldn't fund their own navy properly. "Huh. Now that's concerning. If something were to happen to one of those ships I believe that the men on board would be in jeopardy without the hope of assistance…" Thoth said in a solemn tone. However he tapped his foot on the ground and hummed in thought about the economical factor at work here. "Anubis. Suppose that the Romans are having issues funding their own units. Could it be possible to somehow block off their own trade routes? Or perhaps we take some of their most economically beneficial settlements." Thoth said.

Anubis nodded to Thoth as he looked over the known ports of the Romans, many of which were strung up over great distances. "It could be done but we will have to divide our own fleet to control the sea and bankrupt them to do so. The gaps at sea could allow them to slip through too. So I think using this strategy to blockade the Romans homeport once we have liberated Hellas from their grip." He then put the pieces out on the table showing that if they were to move out and blockade Roman ports, their fleets will need to be tripled from their current size and number, then they will need to move through large bodies of water with many unknown factors hindering them. Therefore, it was difficult, almost impossible feat for them to pull, not without breaking their own backs to break theirs. "So to bottom line, we will first take back our settlement of Halicarnassus and the Mausoleum, then, we'll liberate Hellas and use Epirus's Apollonia as a launching point to invade Rome from their heel. Any questions?" Asked Anubis as he looked around the war room to see if there was anything else he left out.

With everything in order it would seem no one there had any argument or even question Anubis's logic. Thoth gave a determined nod, and held out his right hand in a matter to suggest a team gesture. He looked up to the other deities awaiting for them to hold out their own hands as well. "To glory my friends. May luck be on our side." Thoth said with confidence.

"Για δόξα." Anubis replied in Greek and extent his hand to Thoth, followed by Horus, Anhur and Sekhmet who then gave him their approval of the plan. The group would then exit the war room and begin to oversee the training effort of the men readying themselves for war. Anubis there seemed to have taken a strange fascination with the Cavalry charge, he mounted on Ramiel's back, with a Sarissa lance in hand and practice his formation with a squadron of Hetairoi, Companion Cavalry of Alexander the Great. He led the way of the charge as his Cavalry unit formed a flying wedge formation following their commander's lead and hit the enemy's formation, using the momentum and lances to pierce the formation of their enemies and cut through their ranks in an efficient manner before regroup for a second charge while the enemy lines were reeling. His infantries, the Phalangitai and Hoplites, supported by Hypaspist and native Egyptian Horus's Swordsmen attack enemy infantry forces in the center of their line to smash through and exploit gaps created by cavalries. The archers and javelinmen worked alongside their slingers pelting the enemies and cut down cavalry forces to break their formation and protect their melee fighters as they move up to meet the enemies in battle. They made ready for war, in silent, they cry for battles and battles they shall have when Latin and Hellenic blood and drawn.

Thoth from the back of Sophia stayed in the back with his book open. He waved his finger around with a cyan colored spell at the ready showing that he was an expert at ranged magical attacks. He stayed with the main grouping and watched as the training between the native Egyptians and the Hellenic soldiers continued, and heats up. Thoth himself seemed to let the Egyptian natives have a minor shot of his magic, but knew when in real combat he was going to need all the mana he could get knowing the Roman forces were still a force to be reckoned with. "Good show from everyone! Now have at you! Face me!" htoh shouted firing harmless stun spells at the Egyptian forces. "You will be facing other deities! Learn to dodge the magic and combat their physical attacks. Take note of your training my friends!" Thoth said continuing his harmless casting.

As the spell blasts headed to them, the men quickly ran away from the incoming attacks, though doing so prove that they will have to break formation every time thus that will render them vulnerable to be overrun by the Romans and their own deities. Hence the like of Anhur, Sekhmet and Anubis were needed to defend them from the enemy deities, some of the men regrouped around Thoth and begin to use their Phalanx formation to surround him and push in like a box to prevent the Deity from being able to engage them at a comfortable range. "They do seem to learn their lesson well there High Vizier." Said Horus as he chuckled at the sight of the Greek and native Egyptian boxing Thoth in.

Being surrounded by the opposing force Thoth himself was surprised by how fast his dominating teaching taught the soldiers. As such he gave off a surprised blink of the eyes while his expression turned to a more shocked one. Although despite this he was proud for the men as shown by his chuckle. He raised his hands to the air in a surrendering move while he also smiled. "I suppose so. I do always admire quick learners. Although, even I'm surprised. Let us hope that now each one of them can excel against magic and the physical attacks of enemy soldiers." Thoth stated.

"I'm sure that they can take anything throw at them Thoth…" Horus remarked as he then heard the sound of another chariot coming into the barrack, this one he knew was Ra's own chariot just by the sound of the soldiers standing guard outside shouting "Pharaoh at attention!" Anubis quickly waved his hand in the air, signalling for his troops to regroup for inspection. They lined up into square grid formations with their pikes held up in the air, Anubis on Ramiel's back rode along their front to inspect the troops with his Xiphos in its sheath. He saw that the men here were sporting their own standard, a Jackal holding a dagger in its mouth skulking at its prey. The standard was made from bronze with a stylized Hellenistic design while underneath were Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. Their banner was equally intimidating with a Jackal face snarling and holding the dagger of Egypt in its mouth. The moment Ra came in to see the new army hastily formed and put together, he would see a force of combined Hellenic heavy infantry and shock cavalries with traditional Egyptian light infantry and skirmishers in support along the flanks and rear.

Ra seemed to be impressed by how fast the army was put together. He looked at each of the soldiers and admired the proper formations of each one, and how sharp each of their weapons looked. He had his chariot slow down just so he could get better looks at each one. The mix of Hellenic and Egyptian styles gave him some feelings of nostalgia while respect knowing each one were honoring their own heritage and letting a different culture inspire them. However, the souls in the armor gave him the feeling of power, and yet intimidated him seeing the cold blue flame of each one. Ra nodded his approval, and raised a thumb into the air. "Excellent work Anubis. Despite most of these men being…. Well no longer men, but souls I can say you somehow managed to get these men- souls? Men and souls into top form. This may take some getting used to. Ghosts and I are not by any means friends. Although, I ain't afraid of no ghost." Ra said chuckling to himself. He looked over to Anubis and nodded again. "So. I shall give you the honor of naming your own armed forces. Or should I say general Anubis?" Ra said.

"I thank you Great Pharaoh." Anubis would then look at the face of his troops at focal point and shouted out at the top of his lungs to his warriors. "Jackal Guards! Assemble!" They heeded his order and stood firm with their weapons held at the ready for battle. "For your homelands, your duties tied you. In honor, you are bounded to carry out. With Valor you execute negletient to fear itself!" He barked to his men who then replied in their metallic, ghostly voices while the living ones replied with normal voices. "Duty, Honor, Valor. We shall prevail! Determined to win at all costs!" Anubis bowed his head to them hearing their commitment and readiness for battle had been confirmed before turning to Ra. "They are ready as always, we march now to war and by the end of this week, Roman Legions at Halicarnassus will wail their lasts." Anubis stated as he began to lead his army, the Jackal Guards out of the city barracks and headed out to the port. It was their baptism by fire, their moment of glory, of duty and honor. With Anubis, they shall march to hell and back without fear.


	3. Chapter 2: Intrigue and Mischief

Dawn comes to the city of Alexandria, the war was still an ongoing matter to most but for now there was a sense of calm at last at the city of Knowledge and Wisdom. At the harbor of the city, most pedestrian and workers turn their gazes to the marching formation of warriors heading to their ports and docks. Suits of armor bearing Anubis's likeness with flaming blue resin inside of them to denote their souls. They carried pikes, swords, spears, shields and other weapons of the Hellenic and Egyptian Army. At the forefront of them was their General, Anubis riding on his steed Ramiel leading the men to their ships for war. The Egyptian navy was busy at this point loading up supplies and equipment for the army, logistic experts plan their baggage trains with mules to haul the military's might to the battlefront. There, Athena herself directed the Greek hoplites to embark on their ships to travel with Anubis and retake their homes. She stood proudly on the deck of her flagship directing phalanx formations moving onboard with Hermes and Apollo watching them leaving Egypt after a month or so of Egyptian hosts were gracious enough to open the doors to allow refugees into the country, but now seeing well mannered guests leaving was a bitter drop to swallow. Anubis saw at the docks some of the Hoplites were bidding goodbyes to their wives and families, with promises of liberating their homeland of Hellas from the Romans. "War, war never changes. Hard to swallow glory when fathers perished in the field of battle." Anubis sighed out seeing the sight.

Thoth on the back of Sophia met up with Anubis read his book of the dead still. Although, now it sounded like he was giving off a faint prayer as he read the text form his most trusted book. He rose his head from his book to look forwards at the navies that have amassed in the bay. Each one of the ships gave him a feeling of power he needed for the incoming war. Seeing Athena at the front of one of the vessels gave him a proud smile knowing most of the work here was done by the perseverance and dedication by Anubis. "You know you should feel proud. You've managed to single handedly bring together forces of two pantheons and even create, and at the same time lead an army to fight for what you believe in. Which is of course your homeland." Thoth said moving to the vessels on Sophia's back. He began to humm an old Egyptian tune as a bird song while reading a gin from his book.

"I know but so much is at stakes. First thing first off to Rhodos, to where Horus grew up all his childhood and teenage life. I pity that he didn't grow up here." Said Anubis as he went onboard his personal flagship, it was a massive Ptolemaic vessel, with two masts instead of one, the size of the vessel was equal to that of the other assault ships. On the top deck were two towers to rain arrows down on the enemy with shields and Marines of the Jackal Guards standing by to board enemy ships. The front of the vessel was a golden statue of Isis spreading her wings over the water and underneath was a ram tipped with steel to increase the ramming power of the ship should they go up close and personal. "Anhur and Sekhmet will command the fleets on our wings, we'll be the main force landing at Rhodos to refit after a long journey, then move up to Halicarnassus." Said the Jackal Deity as he inspect the ship's deck seeing the ballista on the towers and Marines on deck preparing the ship for leaving port. As Anubis looked out to the Northern sea he saw that the waves were rising and the wind blew strong gusts at them as he felt the arrival of another deity. "We've got company." Said Anubis as he gripped his scepter and ready himself for possible hostility.

As the waves and wind gust over Thoth's feathers he felt the sudden urge to flee from the battle. The natural instinct that was self preservation, and yet he stood his ground and glared at that direction of the wind coming towards him. On guard and startled by the presence approaching he opened his book and flung his finger to the air pointing upwards. "Poseidon reveal this presence to us! What approaches us from the horizon?..." Thoth asked in a threatening tone. Anubis saw that Thoth's teeth were almost grinding. Of course he knew as well that incoming battles were going to drain on anyone's patience, and cautionary instincts. Thoth was no different. Even Mercury from where he was dashed towards the wing gusts. Although he was much more light hearted about this presence. "Hey! Is that what it feels like when I'm running around like crazy?" Hermes asked.

"He's here…" Anubis stated while looking out at sea where he saw that indeed Poseidon was rising from its depth riding on the back of the Kraken towards them, he wasn't in a rush or even with hostile intents, as his pace was rather slow and well. He soon came to them simply by walking on the water surface while his Kraken sunk into the depth of the sea frightening some of the men. Athena quickly ran from the pier to Anubis's side when Poseidon approached them and bowed his head to Anubis to greet the Egyptian deity. "Anubis, Patron of the Dead, the oceans brought news to me that you have prepared an army to take back Olympus." The god of sea asked, news travel far and wide apparently and with him controlling the sea perhaps news could have come to him in various ways.

"That Indeed is true. This is for Zeus and Athena as well as Aphrodite. Take back their home and make the Latin pigs pay for their transgression." Said Anubis to Poseidon as Athena nodded to her uncle. "That is true, Anubis is now our symbol of unity between the two Pantheons. So therefore, we must support his effort as much as possible." Said Athena while Poseidon twirled his flowing white beard in his hands pondering his thoughts. "Yes I can see that my niece. I aided you in arriving here faster, perhaps I can offer the same aid to Anubis now. Though my power is not as potent since the invasion of Hellas." He sighed out regrettably as his trident sparked energy ball of Aquamancy only to fizzle out in an instant.

"I appreciate the help, keep the Romans away from this part of the Mediterranean Sea, I'll handle the rest." Said Anubis as Poseidon placed his beefy hand on the athletic jackal's shoulder. "The ocean is at your service then General Anubis, my Kraken can keep the Roman navy away from you as you move about the place where do you aim to land first?"

Anubis opened a world map then pointed the island of Rhodos where they were expected to arrive in, before moving his index finger up to Halicarnassus. "First we'll land our men at Rhodos and use the island as a base of operation close enough to retake Halicarnassus. Then we'll launch an amphibious landing to retake the settlement and Mausoleum there. Just keep the Romans off our backs as much as you can." He then wrapped the map up in his hand and keep it inside a leather pouch slung on his back. "Consider it done, I'll move first and keep the Romans away for as long as my Mana allows me." Poseidon then jumped into the air and landed into the sea swimming away as fast as a dolphin with the Kraken departing Alexandria ahead of them. "Time to get going then. Set sail!" Anubis ordered and the crew of the ship began to release their sails and the slaves began to paddle their oars to exit the harbor. They moved out of the city port and were soon joined by other Egyptian navy ships and transports alongside the Greeks moving out in a massive convoy heading northward to Rhodos. However, the first casualty in war is truth, and the truth first died miles and miles away from the Mediterranean.

[hr]

Far from the busy and troublesome Mediterranean Sea, out in the thick forests of the North, where the Rhine begins and the icy shores of the Scandinavia marked the end of the world, stood the proud Asgard Kingdom, a hall of heroes on Valhalla, a ship soaring across the skies with a mighty castle on top of it with a world of its own onboard where no mortal or deities can comprehend the scale and elegant design let alone who built it. In the plaza before the great hall, stood the statue of Odin the Allfather with a pair of Ravens on his shoulders, the people of Valhalla went about their daily lives, the majority were of Viking origin while others were from various other tribes neighboring the Viking and influenced by their culture. A squirrel zapped from one tree top to another, watching the populace moving about the place, his fur was brown with some blue streaks on his head, ears and tail. He brought with him a leather pouch with gleaming beady eyes. The mammal then bolted from the tree top and scurry through the streets to the door of the Great Hall and opened it, he sneaked inside the place and began to tiptoe into the place, knowing that if Thor caught him here he will be doomed to all sorts of punishments. For what crime did he commit to warrant punishments if any at all? His pouch was heavy with some tumbling back and forth inside of it that others would be curious about but not to Ratatoskr, as his scavenger tendencies seem to render him numb to the new and innovations.

However, as Ratatoskr moved through the Great Hall, and believed he was as stealthy as a ninja, the pouch he carried produced a loud sound that was of course oblivious to his own ears. Each jangle inside of the pouch and whatever content it held echoed throughout the massive expanse of the halls. The echoing noises soon reached the ears of a certain deity Ratatoskr made sure to look out for. Suddenly, from behind the squirrel god he heard a crack of thunder land behind him, and an extremely gruff voice clear its throat out at him. "Ahem… Might you explain where you are headed off to Ratatoskr?..." said the voice of Thor. Once Ratatoskr turned he saw the god of thunder armored in blue, cuffs made of high quality brown leather, shoulder pads that almost resembled a football player, and of course the long blonde beard as well as the flowing golden hair Thor was well known for. However, Thor looked down at Ratatoskr with a raised brow, and with his foot tapping on the ground still wondering what possible plans the rodent had scurrying around in his mind.

Ratatoskr of course chuckle and grin nervously at the God of Thunder as he held his acorn in hand ready to unleash his ultimate weapons at Thor, cuteness. "Well...just so you know I was heading to the...uh...um...uh Vault! Yeah Vault! I was going to deposit some artifacts into it until you came. Hehehe. What's up doc?" He began to munch his acorn in front of Thor trying to look adorable in front of him. Though Ratatoskr failed to realize that Thor may have something bothering his mind lately, namely the near constant absence of Loki and Hel from where they should be.

As such Thor didn't seem to be all too convinced by Ratatoskr's adorable appearance. Thor grumbled and picked the squirrel up by his tail, but still not in a rough manner. Just enough for Ratatoskr to know he wasn't buying it. "Enough Ratatoskr. The trick may fool those who haven't met you, but that won't work on me you chaotic mess of a squirrel. Now tell why you are really here. The last time we let you in all of our busts and statues were missing, and replaced with acorn shrines, and statues resembling you, but with hulking muscles…" Thor started making a grumbling noise.

Ratatoskr of course shivered and chuckle even more nervously than before when he was reminded of the mischief but he quickly thought on something, anything that can remotely convince Thor to let him off easy. "Oh...well you see...I was...okay I was looking for a place to recharge my latest property!" He grabbed the object inside his leather pouch and pulled it out quickly. Thor could could only see for a brief moment a rectangular object in Ratatoskr's paws, it was metallic by the looks of it with a plastic cover of acorns wrap around it. On the back of the device was an acorn symbol and Ratatoskr simply chuckled to Thor. "Smile God of Thunder!" He then quickly took a snapshot at Thor's face with a flashlight switched on to stun the God of Thunder before running away from him across the hall of Asgard. "You can't catch me! I'm so fast that not even Loki can!" He boasted as he ran into the art gallery of Valhalla.

Thor grunted, and held his eyes in pain feeling the flash of Ratatoskr's new mystery weapon sting his eyes down to his very retinas. He roared out enraged by Ratatoskr's continued use of shenanigans. "OH! YOU! YOU CRAZY RAT YOU! DAMN YOUR BLOODY PRANKS!" Thor shouted holding the mighty hilt of Mjolnir as he groaned in pain. He blink his eyes several times,but all he saw was a bright blur around him. The effect was nearly identical to the effects of a flash bang. He swung his hammer around confused while shouting angered, and blind. "NOW THESE ANTICS OF YOURS HAVE GOTTEN MALICIOUS! WHERE HAVE YOU GONE RODENT?!" Thor shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed through the halls. He shook his head out and stumbled in a drunken matter down the great hall head for where he thought Ratatoskr had traveled to. Not without crashing into many of the valuable statues erected in the halls.

"Don't worry Thor! It won't hurt you forever...I think." He giggled childishly while keeping out of sight of Thor, as he went about he felt that something was afoot in the art gallery, as he passed by the displays of statues, he felt that one of them was clearly not donated by the worshippers of Asgard. He saw a statue of a squirrel carving a statue of another squirrel carving a statue. The illusion and and visual trick was a dazzle for Thor to see as it was clearly Ratatoskr trying to show off his...Artistic vision. At the base of the statue was an acorn symbol of the squirrel with a tagline that said "Definitely not made by Ratatoskr who may or maynot be here." It was enough to give Thor an unimpressed expression.

The art display caused Thor to huff, and look down at Mjolnir. He raised the mighty war hammer to his face, and shushed it. "Be very quiet… I'm hunting rabid squirrels…" Thor said sarcastically. He reached his hand out to the statue expecting the visual illusion to break as soon as a foreign object entered the field of illusion. "Alright enough of these gimmicks… I think I need to see our eye doctor now damn… Squirrel… Rat… Thing!" Thor stated grumbling again.

As he did, he saw himself inside somewhere that was not Asgard, a place full of golden splendors of light and dazzling work of arts far removed from his time and realm. Pieces of work that in no ways were made by familiar artisans and cultures of his realm. First he saw a painting where a squirrel was holding his face with both paws while screaming at the audiences. Another he saw an island full of picnic goers but they dressed in outfits that in no way resemble Viking armor and were all squirrels with their fluffy tails dragging on the ground. Another more famous work, as shown by spotlights shining on it was a painting of Ratatoskr in long black dress clearly for a woman with a black wig on his head smiling at Thor, all the while revealing his buck teeth to anyone who saw it.

The new change of location caused Thor to grunt confuse by the new setting around him. His voice cracked leaving a stutter in his voice. As he looked around he could tell all of what he saw was Ratatoskr's inflated ego, but regardless how Ratatoskr managed to construct this place, and without it collapsing around him even caused Thor to let out an impressed expression on his face. Of course not without frowning as well seeing himself taken out of his own normal realm. He looked at each of the pieces of squirrel themed art and cringed at a thought in his head. "I sincerely hope he does not make love with himself… Or to any woman… The last thing I need is more of…. Eugh… Him running around…" Thor said to himself. He walked about the room finding no exit, and sighed. "I swear if whatever trapped just killed me, and this is my personal hell i'll start thrashing around…" Thor stated.

Just as he thought the place couldn't be any worse, he was fatally wrong as he heard a high pitch squeaky helium voice of Ratatoskr spoke through the PSA system of the place. "Attention! Attention! It is now opening hour, I repeat it is now opening hour.' Thor then saw doors near him swung open with a sign that said "Horaire d'ouverture!" and hordes of squirrels scurry into the building muttering and chatting with each other of the work of arts by the great artist and sculpture, painter, musician and magician Ratatoskr. "Hey Thor, like my museum? Of course you do! I built it ran it and make money off it! Now I'm rich!" Ratatoskr giggled and rolled around on the floor in joy, though Thor himself could hear that there was a hint to escape the place. He felt that the door way that the squirrels use was corresponding to that of the entrance to the other corridors of Valhalla in terms of direction and design, clearly Ratatoskr can't quite create a perfect illusion through and through. Not only that, but Thor felt that there was a strange song playing in the background, a song that clearly was not hymn, chant or any genre known to the other deities for the time being. The theme was jubilant and jollyful with the a guitar sounding riff to it with the lyrics singing "I'll just keep on loving youuuuu; Cause it's the only thing I want to doooo!"

Thor however didn't close his hearing to the song in the background. Rather his foot tapped itself on its own much to his own surprise. He however planted his foot on the ground to make himself stop. He shook his head out, and carefully moved around each of the fluffy squirrels in the room. "Pardon me. Excuse me. Move! I cannot stand this place!" Thor shouted in a booming voice while he made his way to the exit the squirrels were using. "I swear by the time i make it out of this place i will study on how not to be so easily manipulated by your tricks... " Thor stated as a promise to himself. He then made his way out of the exit, and huffed. He dusted himself off of any stray fur particle and fluff that the other squirrels may have gotten on him. He shuddered thinking some of them had crawled on him, and he looked behind himself at his back, and then at his arms to ensure none of them had gotten on him. "Eugh... Never show me a small furry creature for a century." he said sarcastically.

As he ventured out the illusion disappeared and he was back in Asgard, in fact he simply ventured into the corridor connecting the gallery with that of the dining hall where Vikings and warriors of the Norse come to dine with the Allfather. As he passed by he saw that Ratatoskr hung pictures of himself on the wall, each one in a slightly larger frame than the last until the very last picture showing him with muscles flexing at a beach to impress female squirrels who swooned and fell to their knees over him. "Impressed? I made it myself. Teehee!" He giggled and rolled on the ground laughing out loud at the picture he made that was so realistic that Thor would have thought that he was being tricked by more illusions.

The sight of the pictures in the dining hall caused Thor to rub his eyes in shock. "I'm beginning to think the flash of the mystery device you used is causing this!" Thor said. He shook his head out seeing the overly buffed out Ratatoskr, and cringed at the sight. He blocked the sight out with his hand and continued to walk toward Ratatoskr, but by this time more in rage. "This was not the sight of your body i needed to see today squirrel thing! I have much too many issues on my mind and you are distracting me with your very presence!" Thor shouted while rubbing his eyes out again. "If this the work of narcotics and hallucinogens I will use you as a nail for Mjolnir here..." Thor said grinding his teeth back and forth.

"Oh don't Thor." He giggled childishly as he twirled his tail around until it spun like a rotor blade and lifted him up into the air briefly to Thor's face. "At least you know that I don't start wars and genocides or destruction of civilizations all the time? Right? Unlike your brother Loki the trickster God, I trolled him like no tomorrow." Said Ratatoskr as he fell down to the floor before munching on his acorn again then took a selfie of himself using the phone he had in his hands. "Upload to Furbook and Bleeter and done. Wow 450k likes already? I really need to keep this up." He sarcastically giggled as he check his status on the Internet, a concept that was way too foreign for Thor or other deities to know.

Thor squinted at Ratatoskr perplexed on the foreign contraptions he had with him. They all looked alien, and extremely high tech even to the deity realm. Everything that Ratatoskr said only cause more confusion to swell up in Thor's head, and made him more frustrated. Even the slang terms Ratatoskr used made Thor confused. "You sent a troll to attack Loki? Where did you even find one? You're lying to me about what you just said you devious mouse!" Thor said glaring at Ratatoskr. "And what do you mean likes? Are mortal appraising your antics, on that device? How does it even work?... Oh never mind… You saw Loki?" Thor asked growing impatient.

Ratatoskr shook his head around waving his fluffy ears before chuckled and laughing his head off, it fell literally off of Ratatoskr and rolled on the floor like a ball briefly before he pulled it out of his pouch and reattach it to his head again. "No of course not. I didn't see Loki and I'm sure as HEL that I haven't seen her either. And BTW, I didn't send a troll, it's a new hip word the mortals of Midgard made up where you pull pranks on people, and I'm the best at it." He pounded his fluffy chest to show off how tough and bold he was with all sorts of antics he can pull on the various people around him.

Skeptical at the statement he gave, Thor squinted his eyes at Ratatoskr. He knelt down and knocked him on the head though for his own reason. "You really are a nut. Keep that dismemberment thing between you and me, or else citizens will cry witch craft." Thor said giving off a slight chuckle. He envisioned Ratatoskr being chased by angry barbarians with torches which gave him some joy wishing to see that. Although satisfied with the answer knowing this was all he would get out of Ratatoskr he stood up and grumbled. "Well I got bad news. Your head is as empty as it is easy to detach. You're a bad nut. Regardless. I highly recommend you be careful with…. That." Thor said as he pointed to Ratatoskr's phone. "I don't know what sorcery is being used here, but it could very well be destructive…" he finished showing clearly the deity realm was not yet ready for electronic devices.

"Don't worry it's not like it's going to send stuffs flying at you and crash into your face or anything. I heard that Sun Wukong lost his magic staff but nobody knows who's the thief. Oh and I also heard that Fenny O' Fenrir is still a basement dweller for some reasons. I wonder what's he's going to do when he breaks out." Said the hyperactive squirrel as he scurry and scamper out of the dining hall and up the towers of Messengers to see what's new in his mails were mainly his subscription to various clubs and Jester groups of Asgard. There was nothing of interests to Thor except for the gossips and rumors of a theft of some other Deity's tool. Sounded rather annoying but somewhat interesting at the same time, perhaps, concerning even.

"Sun Wukong… Hmmm… Missing staff. I have yet to conversate with many of the other deity realms, but this is most troubling now to me." Thor stated with great concern in his voice. He already knew Ratatoskr wasn't going to take much seriously, but Thor already knew that the news of a missing relic, and prized weapon would lead to some issues, and possible havoc. "Why if anyone ever took my Mjolnir… Oh that would cause me to strike a furious lighting strike down from the heavens." Thor said dusting off his precious hammer. He however looked to Ratatoskr, and sighed. "Well i suppose i owe you some type of thanks. So thank you for the information. Now keep your eyes out for anything that might cause trouble. Anything out of place. Or you know anything shiny since your eyes always seem to be caught on that." Thor said point to Ratatoskr's golden acorns.

"Oh yippie! That's awesome I get to be your scout from now on heh? Cool day good day it is! I heard some gossips from Fafnir the other day in the mines that he and Loki are out to do some businesses at Olympus and that Fafnir is going to leave the mines with a bucket load of gems or something." He rolled around on the floor like barrel back and forth at Thor's feet to conjure static electricity into his fur. He however quickly bolted into the air with his fur standing straight up after he achieved his static electricity. "Oh and now Zeus is dead, Hellas is invaded by the Romans after they kicked some tribes out of their homes West of here, oh and I heard that the Egyptian just have a new general appointed." He squealed around Thor while opening a scroll detailing the news for the day as things were going on around the realms. "And all of this happened by none other than...NOBODY!" He tossed the scroll in the air madden by the lack of information on the identity of the perpetrator for him to make a punchline.

However, the sudden news of the events in other realms caused Thor to gasp loudly shocked by how he was out of the loop of information between each of the realms. The news of the death of Zeus however was the most shocking to him knowing how powerful the Hellenic deity was. Not only that though how similar the powers Zeus and Thor once shared. "EXCUSE ME WHAT? Ratatoskr! Why am I now receiving this news!? You're supposed to be the messenger god for our entire realm! And yet i am only now just receiving this bloody news! The Greeks were one of our allies! You do realize how powerful Zeus was in the entirety of all of our pantheons right?..." Thor questioned. However, the news of Loki in Olympus made Thor's heart sink. He himself gulped thinking more and more on the fact Loki has been missing, and Ratatoskr, being the only news source, had stated his presence by Olympus just as Zeus was murdered. Thor frowned and bit his lip knowing Loki was not always the most stable of deities. "And then there is that… I might have a suspect to this as much as it kills me." Thor said regrettably.

"Then let's go tell the Allfather then Thor, otherwise, we'll have to have dinner without Loki and I think Odin won't ground him anymore since he's too old for that now." The squirrel flew up to the air and scurry up to Thor's shoulders and used his teleportation spell to bring them to meet Odin, as he performed his spell, there was an acorn symbol on the ground where he casted the spell before they flew through space of Asgard to where Odin was. As they streaked through the portal, the world around them blur and gel into colorful streaks in a tunnel before they fall down at a Viking encampment where various axe wielding, shield bashing and sword swinging seamen and warriors were practicing their trades. They even had hunters gathered into archer groups and practice archery skill and marksmanship at straw dummies. "Ah, God of Thunder and son of Odin. Finally it's good to meet you here." Said a thick Scottish accent as Thor and Ratatoskr turned to meet the one and only, Tyr, the Lawgiver. The hulking balding warrior of Asgard approached them with his right arm now nothing but a stylized metal wolf glove, "It is good to see you here, we had a raid on the Roman camp last night bad losses all around." Said Tyr disappointingly as he mourned the losses.

"Oh darkest days then. Hmph. And they say we are the warmongers…" Thor stated as he placed the hilt of Mjolnir over his right shoulder in a more relaxed position. He looked to many of the soldiers in the camp and saw most were still licking their own wounds. "Blasted Romans have more land under their belts they they can even handle while we've been pushed out all the way out here to the farthest regions." Thor said in a grumpy manner. He looked to Ratatoskr on his shoulder still, and held his arm out pointing him over to Tyr. "We have some news however. Late news… By our oh so talented squirrel here... Apparently Zeus, and you won't believe your ears are speaking this… Has been assassinated by an unknown assailant." Thor said with a cold chill running up his spine. He knew very well that the many of deity realms would be in turmoil without Zeus, and he could still feel a certain tense atmosphere around him once he uttered the words. He shook his arm slightly for Ratatoskr to speak the news. "Go on Ratatoskr. You must tell him what else you know. Coming from me the circumstance with you know who, and my rivalry with him make me seem like a paranoid fool." He said frowning.

"Oh and Sun Wukong's staff has been stolen by someone and the Monkey King is asking and fighting everyone in his pantheons for it back. Also also, the Romans butchered the Greeks at Halicarnassus and Hellas, prompting the Egyptian to send someone after them. Rumour has it that Ra appointed Edge lord Anubis as a new General with his own army to take on the Romans." He chuckled hearing the amount of news he spilled out of his motor mouth though he was not cautious with how he deliver the news. Tyr however was appalled to hear the revelation and development as he gasped out hearing the incredible development. "Curse me missing arm! The Romans are THAT vicious! Why if I had me right arm here I'll send them and their Bellona flying back to Circus Maximus whatever it's called. I lost one me best fighter earlier too, one Gunter the Geats. He was captured by the Romans and probably their slaves now. Poor lad, If I'm lucky I'll find him and bust him out of their chains in a heartbeat."

Thor squinted to the statement made by Tyr on the recent events. "Gunter of Geats? Captured by the Romans? This all seems like some type of mad coincidence." Thor stated. However he spun his hammer around, and thought for a moment on just how many events were happening at once. He knew the Romans causing more trouble than they could chew. Although he scratched the beard in downwards pulling motions having many suspicions. "The death of Zeus followed by the Romans invading Greece… I can't see how that's a coincidence. Their attack was far too fast for them to even receive the news of his death. Unless they truly are just that anxious to go to war… Not sure what they would do once they found they might have taken all of the world. Although, I don't plan to find out either." Thor stated with a stern voice.

"Trust me Thor, those Romans are way too eager to jump start war. Maybe it was all a coincidence with their planning, maybe not. But one thing is certain we'll make them pay. Odin is expecting you in his tent." Said Tyr as he led Thor through the camp, the place had for the most part wooden barracks with fences built in round curves to funnel attackers through to choke points, there were also other facilities for the men like meat currier and storage house for food. Beer was a luxury as the wheat was needed needed for food, so the men opted to drink looted Roman wines. They soon came to a tent with a statue of the Allfather standing proud outside of it with a pair of ravens on his shoulders. Inside sat Odin the Allfather, in his segmented armor and a metal belt bearing the symbol of the Norse Pantheon, he bore his signature eye patch and halberd in hand while sporting grey hair showing his age and wisdom. "Ah my son, come in please. I've been expecting you would come. Grave news I've already know no need to remind me, however, I do think I should discuss with you a few things." Said the Allfather as he sat and drank his golden goblet of beer. He glanced over at Thor with an ominous glare, "Namely, on matters of Loki and the recent development in Egypt." Said the Allfather.

Thor sat down on a chair, and sighed. He himself crossed his arms, and sighed to himself looking at a the glare in his father's eyes. "It is a twisted situation. Something's not right with the world, and will not be right for a while. With the death of Zeus no deity is safe anywhere. Worst yet if indeed Loki is a suspect then by the forces of everything against us we will be attacked. Either by the Greeks or possibly even the Egyptians. Knowing how allied they are…" Thor said not taking any drinks. He seemed too stressed by now within this situation to even relax for a single drink. He clenched his fist and tapped a foot on the ground anxious. "I feel the need to report all the way to Anubis himself so he can spread the word. I've seen what he was able to do as a child, and I know he's a force, and an ally both to be reckoned with. If I can act now then maybe I can lower any possible arms against us." Thor said with a voice full of urgency.

"That I have no doubt you can and will do my son. But know this, force of arms are nothing compared to a dagger up your throat in the dead of night. There are too many coincidences right now to ignore. Loki been missing for months if not years by now, along with Hel, Fenrir remains where he has been but I doubt that will last in trying times. Ragnarok is upon us. I want you to find Anubis link up with him and be Asgard's bridge to him. But be weary of Loki, as I fear he may truly be the engineer of this chaos." The wise elder instructed carefully to Thor before handing him a scroll written for the Egyptian, what he warned Thor about Loki however may raise a lot more concern from Thor as he knew Loki himself was the cunning trickster and would no doubt cause mischiefs. But mischiefs on a scale like this...Thor must see it to believe it.

"I will succeed this task. I promise you this on my blood father. May the odds be in our favor for chaos and mischief are in the air around us. Anything is now a possibility" Thor stated as he saluted Odin. He then walked out and looked to the sky above him. He held onto the scroll tightly in one hand while knowing just how he was going to travel. He even let himself smile taking some enjoyment in his method of travel. He held onto the string Mjolnir had on the end of its held, and used it to spin the hammer around in a circle. Finally he swung his arm out at the sky, and let the massive enchanted weight of Mjolnir throw him at incredibly high jet like speed towards the sky as if he were actually flying. He directed his flight path for of course Egypt where he knew he'd land. From the sky a flash of lightning busted lightning every cloud around while a deafening crack of thunder sounded off signalling Thor was traveling now.

[hr]

While Thor traveled across the sky and into the far reaches of the world, Anubis and his fleet by now had reached the island of Rhodos with the blessing of Poseidon's protection. It took them three days to sail across the Mediterranean at full speed towards the island and were now entering the port of the island, as the sun sets in the West, Anubis disembarked from his ship with Ramiel and his entourage and went ashore with his men to set up camp outside of the city to begin their invasion of Halicarnassus. Anubis kept to himself for the most part as he and Horus set up their tent in the center of the camp adjacent to Thoth, Anhur and Sekhmet's tents. The Jackal deity sat inside his tent on a wicker chair with the hair strand that Athena recovered from Zeus's body. A blonde hair strand, one that was far too out of place for the Mediterranean. "You still think that some conspiracy machination wrought all sorts of problems on us?" Asked Horus as he poured a goblet of wine for Anubis.

The Jackal deity nodded to Horus as he continued to examine the strand sniffing at it, picking up the scent of ink and...a scent of beer, and no one in the Mediterranean drank beer as the drink required a specific kind of plant found in Germania and the Scandinavia to brew it. "Precisely so, the assassin is possibly of Norse origin. Drink beer on occasions, and not only that he also has a penchant for using blades, daggers to be precise." Said Anubis as he looked at the strand attentively. "I see your point there brother, though without any kind of knowledge, or even a Norse in here I have no clue how to help. Other than my patronage." Said Horus as he sat down next to Anubis with the war table set up, the sight of Halicarnassus and its mausoleum was displayed in a scaled up strategic view, when Horus pinch his fingers on it, the view zoom in gently passing through the clouds and flocks of birds to see the ground up close in a more tactical one to survey the landscape. He found the area to be a hilly and lightly forested grassland region. "If only we have someone from the Norse Pantheon here to make some sense of the situation. Bleh, be careful with what one wishes for." Said Horus as he winched himself, not knowing that his wish may indeed about to come true.

Much to Horus's fears the wish did indeed get granted, but not in the way many of the deities there expected. To their surprise the first thing they heard was the sound of thunder crack up high in the sky. Thoth raised his head and raised a brow curious. "Strange i did not forecast a storm today." Thoth said to himself. He looked to his book and tapped inside of the pages confused. "Are you holding out me?" Thoth asked to his book expecting it to answer. However, another crack of thunder and a crack of lightning showed that this was no ordinary storm. Or at least one nature would make. From outside of the tent they heard the viking war cry followed soon by a massive crashing noise outside of the tent and the Earth around them shaking as if an earthquake had hit the area. Thoth's eyes widen and he let off a loud scream while he fell backwards in his chair. "GOOOOD LORD! WHAT IN THE NAME OF KNOWLEDGE?" Thoth shouted as the atmosphere around them turned quiet again. However, whatever the source of the noise was now just outside of their tent.

Anubis bolted out of his seat and grabbed the Xiphos blade from the table and ran out of the tent with Horus following him to see who could this be. He had a very clear idea however of what his visitor was judging by the sound of the thunder and lighting. Anubis's eyes pierced the darkness around him at dusk and saw the grasses in his camp was burned with a rune of the Norse's Pantheon and Thor standing in Ground Zero. "Thor, son of Odin and God of Thunder, it's been a long time since I last met you. I recall I was...10 back then." He sighed out when he mentioned the troubled time he had as a child when he met Thor the first time, back then he could potentially sour relationship between the two pantheons all because he was moody and clouded by the death of his mother. "What brings you here in a sudden?" He asked keeping his sword sheathed while his men were exercising caution around Thor with their likes and swords held ready.

Thor looked to Anubis, and bowed his head to the now general deity. He quickly pulled out the note Odin had given to him. "A message from the all father. Read this and read it well. This will provide you some insight on your current situation… And I'm afraid part of my pantheon could be source of the trouble." Thor stated placing the scroll firmly in Anubis's hand. "Oh and pardon my entrances. Mjolnir can get excessive."

Thoth's ruffled feathers stuck up in a startled manner. Each individual feather stood up making his appearance way more comedic, and yet nonthreatening. He brought both hands to his face and began to adjust the feather back into position while grumbling. "Well you certainly have quite the entrance… What does the note say Anubis?" Thoth asked.

As Anubis reads the scroll it's content became a warning for him, not just a warning but a premonition to a fate Odin has long foreseen. "It's Odin's request that I attend his funeral when his death comes at last. But he also warn me of his son Loki, and Hel and Fenrir, telling me to do as I see fit to them. The rest is military coordination between us to attack the Romans and how best to proceed." Anubis rolled up the scroll and handed it to Horus who held it tight in his hands for safe keeping. Anubis would then handed Thor the blonde hair strand of the assailant found on Zeus's body. "I think you would recognize this as it is not of the Mediterranean, I smelled ink that was used to dye it to match my fur. But I also smell the scent of beer on it, only Asgard has plentiful beer enough to make the scent stick on one's hair for so long." Said Anubis as he let Thor inspect the hair strand, it was rather long and woman like, in fact, Asgardians tend to have long flowing hairs. "I have no doubt that Loki frames my brother for the murder of Zeus, his interest, I dare not say." Said Horus as he leaned against his tent.

Thor took the strand of hair, and squinted his eyes to it. He didn't need much time to inspect the piece of hair however, and made a furious glare towards it feeling a sudden urge to smite it with a strike of lightning. He got down to one knee after lowering himself to the ground and bowed his head. His long flowing blonde hair covered his face completely as if hiding his shame. He let off a very long sigh feeling much of the air in his lungs escape slowly. "Loki… You have brought the Norse shame, and have brought a war of which all the pantheons are not ready to view… Worst yet the blood of Zeus is on the hands of all of the Norse. What has possessed you my brother?... Why have you cursed us this way?..." Thor said in remorse. With his reaction, and feeling of grief it was clear where Zeus's blood lay.

"By now he's out somewhere else, beyond our reaches and perhaps plotting again. Keeping close contacts is key to survival from now on, Thor, tell Odin this, when I invade Rome, he can take back the land of Germani and I shall invite him to Rome and share the glory." Said Anubis he helped Thor up to his feet before handing a goblet of fine wine made from grapes to help him drink his sorrow away.

Thor held the goblet of wine in his hand, and circled the red liquid around a couple of time taking a smell of the aroma the wine created. He brought the goblet to his lips and tilted it to drink the alcoholic beverage. His troubles were soon over however knowing that Anubis was now on the side of the Norse Pantheon, and that both would share a possible glory once the blood of Rome had been shed on Roman territory. Thor handed the goblet back to Anubis, and wiped his mouth of any alcohol and gave him a single nod. "I'll send the message to father. May the storms be on your side." Thor said. He looked up to the sky again, and spun his hammer around in one hand before throwing his arm out to point at the sky. The weight of Mjolnir threw him up towards the and in the blink of an eye he was gone. Already headed back for Asgard.

Anhur sighed out as he looked down on the ground where Thor was standing as it left an impression of Norse Pantheon logo burning on the grass slightly. "That man has no respect for lawn maintenance." Anhur quipped while Anubis cracked his neck before heading into his tent. "Generals meeting now." Said Anubis as he headed inside the tent, followed by Thoth, Sekhmet, Anhur and Horus to see what Anubis had planned in mind. They saw that he had built an elaborate and detailed model of Halicarnassus with the Mausoleum to use as landmark and reference point for them to know what kind of battle they were going into. Anubis was kneeling on the ground setting up the pieces of Roman and Graeco-Egyptian troops on the model to illustrate his battle plan to them. They saw that Anubis placed the ships that represent the fleet on the Western beach of the Halicarnassus hilly terrain and settlement, showing them where they will land.

With the hills in mind as the landing point, Thoth had a better idea of what was to be expected when landing. Although, he made a very deep humm listing the possible conflicts they would see when landing. He already knew that the enemies they were to face were going to use the hills to their own advantage. On Graeco-Egyptian forces side however he saw the hilled terrain as possible cover they could use. "Not much cover besides the hills. Without any trees we will be out in the open once we climb over those rigid hills. Before we even land though the enemies will surely have the high ground. We are facing a literal uphill battle." Thoth stated.

"Not unless we catch them off guard, if we land before they anticipated then we will have the advantage over them." Said Anubis as he began to elaborate his battle plan to the group inside the tent. "Our advantage can only be realized and capitalized by landing at night or latest at dawn, before the sun even rises. On the western side of the Peninsula, the Sun will silhouette the enemies and render them exposed to our eyes. If we take one highground before they do, we will hold the advantage for the rest of the battle." 

Anhur however cleared his throat when hearing this, to him, it was a rather superficial plan and advantage at best to even try and move up on a hill at dawn with little light to guide them. "Even if we take a high ground with some slopes and elevations, the Romans can still beat us with their infantries. You saw what they did to a Phalanx formation?" Asked Anhur as he pointed to the lines of Hastati and Principes that would inevitably lead an assault uphill against them.

"There's always a weakness, and I know the Roman's weakness. Their Equites, the cavalries that protect their Infantry's flanks. Without the Equites, they will be broken and vulnerable as any infantry armies." Said Anubis as he placed the pieces representing his Hetairoi (Companion Cavalry) on the right flank of his army while the main line were Phalangites marching forward supported by Hoplites and Thorax Swordsmen of the Jackal Guards. In front of the main marching formation were Peltasts and slingers to skirmish the enemies while Anhur commanding the left flank had Citizen Cavalries with Hypapists and a number of Pikemen to guard the Romans from coming in too fast.

"What are you intending to do to them this time Anubis?" Asked Sekhmet as she tried to decipher to plan of Anubis in details as she saw herself being placed in command of the center force while Horus was going to lead the skirmishers. "You said if we break their Equites we break their army. How?" She asked perplexed by it. "Their Equites are the only forces capable of giving them an eye on our forces, but their riders are impatient and rowdy noblemen seeking personal glory with rash actions. Play to their vanity, draw them in first before smashing them without relent. Without their own mobile force to hit back at us, their infantries are sluggish and like rabbits before a lion." Said Anubis as he pushed the pieces of his Hetairoi cavalry forward, he swung around to the Roman's left flank and show them that he was going to slam into their Triarii at the very rear of the line.

Thoth nodded seeing the strategy play out as a demonstration, and felt more confident in the plan now then before. He was already envisioning many wounds, and maiming strikes on the enemies with Anubis's method of battle just by the demonstration he layed out "I see then. Take out each of them on the flanks, and then the main force will be completely exposed to our blades. Sounds extremely bloody, but necessary. I can still provide magical attacks but at a range of course. Perhaps the archers will appreciate a glyph of pain?" Thoth asked.

Anubis nodded to Thoth. "Perhaps they need it. Considering that they can deal out deaths from a distance. Wiping them out will help tilt the balance in our favor." Said Anubis as he pushed the rank of skirmishers forward to engage the Velites of Rome. "If we can break their skirmishers early on, we'll tilt the balance of power in our favor latter." However Sekhmet when looking at Anubis's maneuver to attack and overrun the 600 Triarii at the rear saw that this was being rather risky if not insane even for Anubis. "You're taking cavalries to overrun spearmen, what if they turn to face you in time?" She questioned him sounding rather doubtful of his tactical and strategic foresight. "Not if you break their Hastati and Principes, Sekhmet, they let their Triarii rest from the battle as reserve if their men break and rout in the first assault. If we break the Triarii at the same time as their Hastati and Principes then they are doomed on the battlefield." The Jackal Deity replied as he pointed out how the Principes and Hastati would retreat behind their lines when an assault had failed to gain fruition. Horus nodded to Anubis as he knelt down and pointed at the Legatus of the Legion. "What about their general? Or Military Tribune whatever they call him...do you intend to off him as well?" Horus asked, to which Anubis tossed the command piece representing himself at the Legatus toppling the Roman general in the process. "I'll send him to the Underworld myself." Said Anubis.

Impressed by his reasoning and tactical foresight Anhur whistled out in utter amazement that the pupil has surpassed the master in planning but executing his own plan will require the battle to proof that Anubis can indeed lead a massive campaign with Anhur relegated to the back seat for the most part. "When will we leave?" Asked Anhur as he checked his sun clock under the moonlight, he saw that it was now 2 o'clock in the morning. Hours away from dawn. "Within the hour. Let's get going then." Said Anubis as he began to put on his armor, an ornate suit with the casts of Horus carved into it to display the strength and patronage of Horus over the wearer. There was also a breast plate design similar to that of the Greek and Macedonian armor for Generals and Basileus. He then walked out of his tent and lit the torch with some red color powder to signal to the men that it was time for them to move out.

The Jackal Guards saw that their general had signaled the invasion and that time was running against them so they run out of their tents and grabbed their weapons and shields in a haste. The men quickly loaded their mules and camels of the supplies and packed up the tents as fast as possible though they would require more than an hour to perform the task. Anubis and Horus would embark back on their ship with Ramiel in the cargo hold ready to go while the men embark on their transports in a hasty forced march manner to get going soon. They have no clues what kind of plan their general had concocted in his mind but they will execute regardless. As the hour went by Anubis's army was setting sail from Rhodos to cross the sea to land at Halicarnassus, the initial invasion force will lead the way and land first while the supply and baggage train will follow closely behind them. Their baptism by fire was about to begun.


	4. Chapter 3: Kudos

The saying goes that the night was young, and for Aphrodite the evening was long and dull in Alexandria. Far from the city of adventure it usually was known for, the city itself in time of war with its men were far away from home going on campaign under Ra's grace. In her hands, she held a letter written by Anubis and sent to her by a messenger owl.

"Dear Aphrodite, my beloved, the past few days have been long waits for me and the men. We embarked on a campaign to liberate Hellas from the Roman brutes and hope that we may succeed. The men are eager for battle though they are young and have never tasted the bitterness of war before. The warriors that I summoned from their rest were more...cynical and quiet on the matter as they have seen battles. I can't blame them though. The least I could do was to have them protect their younger and less experienced brethren. We expect to engage the Romans soon...very soon at Halicarnassus and make them pay for what they've done. I hope to see you again soon. Love, Anubis."

Once she had completed the letter Aphrodite let out a sad sigh longing to see Anubis again. She felt a couple of her tears drop on the page she read from finding herself to be emotionally saddened by the fact Anubis had sent himself out to a dangerous task which was to participate in war. She viewed him standing in front of a massive army of men while riding proudly on the back of Ramiel. She knew that her imagination was powerful enough to make her wishes and desires come true, but only in her mind. She wished Anubis to be the safest one out of the whole of the army.

The only one that matter to her still was Anubis. She wiped tears from her face, and looked to the dark sky from her room. The night sky filled with dazzling stars gave her no comfort still knowing that this may very well be the final item of Anubis's affection. "Anubis… Wherever you may be… Don't let yourself get dragged too far into this war. I want you safe…" Aphrodite said to herself. Despite her being tired she found herself to be restless, and weary. She brought the palm of her hand to her mouth and blew air from her lungs. Her hand produced a heart shaped pink cloud that sailed out of her room's window. Clearly to gaze upon Anubis' face as her own message to him.

[hr]

While Aphrodite wept and mourn the missing face of Anubis in the safety of Alexandria, Anubis was far away sailing his fleet closer to the coast of Halicarnassus of Ephesus. He ordered his men to sail without torches and guided only by the moonlight above, the eyes of the undead souls pierced the veil of darkness and early hour mists and saw bright flaming figures walking around on the beach of the settlement to the East. There were Roman patrols moving about the place to keep order and keep watch.

They managed to make their way far into Egyptian and Greek's land but their navy need time to regroup and move out to secure a supply line for them. Their orders for now was to hold their ground and hold the settlement. "The batch of Auxilia we got yesterday were a rowdy bunch. They wear pants for crying out loud, can you believe it Antivirus?" Said one of the Legionnaires walking on the beach with his pilum in hand. "Aye Cetplus. It seems like we have a problem controlling those Barbarians, first we put them in red and yellow clothes like ourselves then we have them giving up their weenies and meat then we'll teach them Latin." Said his Antivirus to his partner when suddenly, the two of them stopped midway when they saw something in the distance, silhouettes of ships, military by the looks of it. Their first thought was Roman navy finally came to ferry them supplies and other needed reinforcements and perhaps settlers. "Look! That's our reinforcements coming in to relieve us! We're saved!" Antivirus cried out only for Cetplus to cut his excitement short.

"No no no. Something's not right, why didn't they sail into the harbor, it's not like we purposefully keep the lights there off. Let's report this to the Centurions maybe we're under attack." The two of them would then run back into town towards the military barracks of the garrison force where the two met their superior officers.

They extend their right hands from their heart outward to salute him. "Ave Caesar. Sir we saw some ships moving around the settlement heading West. But they don't look like they're from the navy sending in reinforcements." Said Antivirus as Cetplus nodded and quickly add in "You see, we saw them making a turn around the settlement avoiding the harbor entirely and their shapes didn't match with any vessels that we used when we invade Halicarnassus."

The Centurion nodded to them before stroking his chin curiously, the revelation was clearly a warning to him and his men in town but the question was where were the ships going to land. "I'll send out the Equites to see what's going on there. You two should report to your Maniples now and get ready for battles." The Centurion commanded them as the two nodded and ran off to their Maniples and Century respectively to prepare themselves for combat.

Meanwhile, Anubis saw that his fleet had so far been undisturbed by the Romans, all was going according to plan for him but the chances of being caught was real and he knew very well that their element of surprise can only last for so long. As the ships came ashore his army began to disembark from their vessels and assemble into formations on the beach. Anubis himself rode on the back of his Ramiel with the Sarissa lance in hand and Xiphos sheathed on his belt as he rode with his Hetairoi into formation to the right of the Jackal Guards.

"Phalangitai, forward!" Shouted their captains as the Phalanx marched forward followed by Hoplites and other missile and skirmishers moving behind them, accompanying them were Thorax Swordsmen marching about in square formations with their shields and swords in hand. Thoth himself when saw the slingers under Horus's command noticed that some of them had shields painted with Ibis figure.

On the back of Sophia Thoth moved with the slingers seeing the symbol of the ibis painted on each one. He smirked though seeing the ibis figures in particular bore his likeness rather than just being a random ibis. Namely it looked as if his eyes were on each of the shields were a cyan color showing more of Thoth's usual energy color. He followed with them and readied his book in hand. "Wasn't aware my eyes glew so brightly. Alright personal check list. Book. Check. Bow. check. Arrows. Check. Medical supplies. Hmmm check." Thoth said as he double checked his supplies. The incoming battle however felt like it was weighing down on his shoulders despite his cheery personality.

As they advance to the point of battle, Anubis rode up front to inspect the men he saw that the Phalanx formations and hoplites were in order, in between them were gaps to allow the skirmishers to slip through and move up front quickly and efficiently. Ramiel strolled around them slowly, letting his rider inspecting the men and see if they were ready and he began to deliver a rousing speech for them as all generals do.

"Sons of Zeus, Children of the Nile, you have traveled far from your home and forsaken the comfort of your abode for battles. But for what? When your children ask you this, tell them with all the power in your hearts 'For freedom, for your homeland and theirs'. Before your eyes is the Roman Legion, an army of bloodthirsty brutes and killers, but let us not look down upon them with collective contempt, but pity rather. They wade through seas and mountains to battle us for idle rich men in Rome who booted them out of their own roofs and took their lands for the almighty Denarii and held no respect for principles or virtues. So I call upon you now! Fight for Hellas! For Olympus and for your families! For Freedom!" The men were stirred by the speech as they let out their mighty roar to the heavens, holding their spears and pikes high in the air ready to draw blood and devour the innards of their enemies.

"To battle! Zeus will be with us!" He then rode his horse out to the right flank of his army as the Hetairoi cavalries began to form up and prepare themselves for battle when Anubis gave them the signal. "Captain Nicolaos, four lines on me now!" The captain of the Hetairoi detachment would then form up behind Anubis with his horsemen following him closely to prepare for battle.

True to Anubis's prediction, the Romans were now marching out from Halicarnassus with Equites on their flanks, Legatus in the center behind the Triarii and leading Velites who wore wolf pelts on them and held javelins in their hands. In the middle of the formation were the Hastati and Principes marching out to battle with Pilum in their hands and Gladius in their sheaths. The horns were blown and the drums were sounded as the Equites rode up first to assess the situation, as they rode forward to either flanks of Anubis, Horus's skirmishers were assembled forward of the phalanx line with their own javelins readied and the slingers began to hurl out their stones.

The projectiles though harmless looking slammed into the heads of either the rider or his steed, knocking them down rather quickly, while the peltasts threw their javelins coated with flaming cloth on their targets, knocking down riders and shatter the formation of the charging Equites. Roman elites long known for their impatient and vanity charged forward with full speed regardless of losses, they hoped to gain political advances from the feat they pulled today. But as they were running forward, they were caught off guard by Anhur's Citizen Cavalries who rammed into their flanks with lances and swords drawn, knocking down men and beasts alike in a hail of steel. Anubis too made his push, running down various Equites in his way with the Hetairoi helps. As the field began to turn red, the Equites survivors turn back and ran away from the fight.

"Form phalanx!" the captains of the formations ordered as the main line pointed their pikes forward, the second line pointed their pikes into the air in a 45 degrees angle to shrug off arrows and ready to replace anyone who died in the forward rank. Anubis himself began to ride off parallel to the Roman's left drawing some suspicion from the legionnaires. At the center, Velites and Roman archers began to fire their arrows and hurl their javelins at Anubis's skirmishers, dropping some of the men but were unable to kill those who were already dead. Anubis clearly had mixed his troops to make sure his formation was not too weak and not too strong on any sides.

As for Thoth, he watched Anubis run on the back of Ramiel headed for the left of the Roman flank. Thoth himself looked to how the men made up of burning resin, and souls simply stood, and shrugged off being hit by weaponry that would certainly destroy a normal man. "Clever thinking Anubis. They won't know what is happening until they are right in their faces." Thoth said grouping with the slingers. Quickly he casted a single glyph of pain for them while he himself drew his bow and arrow. The glyph he had of course shined a bright cyan in the overwhelming darkness, but for now he used his own bow and arrow to fire off at the Roman phalanx formation. However not a random fire. Instead he was aiming for their centers to cripple them first from the inside.

As the Glyphs seared through the Roman lines, some of the men collapsed to the ground gripping their chest and stomach feeling the shattered bones and pain that was tearing them apart from the inside. The Velites were not Rome's best and most trained men, but were rather adolescents lumped into groups of skirmishers sent up first to gain some forms of experience. They turned around and ran through the gaps of their Triplex Acies formation and let their Hastati and Principes counterparts to march up and take their place in combat. "Skirmishers fall back! Phalanx hold your line!" Sekhmet roared out ferociously as the slingers and peltasts of the Jackal Guards returned to the rear of their lines and reassemble themselves, the Phalangitai then spread out to cover the gaps with their pikes held out forward.

Roman Hastati when ran up to the battle line were met with a wall of Pikes poking at them and knocking them back. Some of whom were pierced through their stomachs and saw their innards fall out into bloody pools on the ground. Each time the Hastati forced their way through they were met by the fearsome hoplites punching them back away from the main battle line with the skirmishers fired over the heads of their allies to pester the Romans more.

Once the Romans saw for themselves the form of their enemies, their jaws dropped to the floor as they felt their courage melt away, some of them staggered back in fear but were then swept aside by Anhur's cavalry as he the lion deity led his flank in an enveloping wing attack on the Hastati's line, routing and breaking some of the Centuries forcing them to run back from the battle.

Seeing their younger counterparts were fleeing the battles, the Principes would then begin to march down to face battle while the envelopment was still ongoing. "Hold your line!" Sekhmet ordered, encouraging the warriors to keep on fighting without breaking. While the Principes were moving away, Anubis saw his opening and quickly swung his Hetairoi cavalry in to run down the enemy reserve. "Form flying wedge!" He ordered to the men as his Ramiel led the attack head on while his troops began to form up behind him into a wedge formation as they charge into the flank of the Triarii and the Legatus.

As the Triarii stood watch to form up, they saw that the Principes were fighting the Thorax Swordsmen in a losing battle as the swordsman led by Horus swung on their flanks in a pincer move to crush them in. "For Olympus!" They heard a Greek shouting to their left, and when they turn to see, they were shocked to find Anubis's cavalries slamming into their flank, throwing the men flying away as Ramiel burst forward, tearing through the ranks with Anubis's lance shoving them aside.

His Hetairoi followed him closely running down masses of Roman Triarii. The Legatus himself saw the battle was lost and made a dash away from the battle as far as possible. As he rode away, Anubis tossed his lance in the air, and landed it on the back of the Legionnaire general, the Roman winched feeling his spine shattered and his flesh ripped apart. He looked back and saw the lance in buried into his back as his strength slowly left him, the last thing he saw was Anubis riding towards him with his sword drawn and a blow was delivered severing the head.

Thoth's eyes widened seeing Anubis's brutal nature still within him. Only now instead of Anubis lashing out in anger as he did when he was a child Anubis clearly directed his rage at those who have wronged him. Already though Thoth named the cause of death of the Legatus to be the paralyzation he suffered when Anubis's spear hit the man's back while the decapitation gave Thoth a slight chill down his back at a though that entered his head. "12 seconds left for him I'm afraid…" Thoth said as he remarked the demise the head would face without a doubt. He stirred up Sophia beneath him, and rushed over to Anubis seeing the battle won. "By gods he's done it! The first battle in our favour!" Thoth cheered loudly.

"Run them down! Don't let them escape!" Sekhmet ordered as he the more mobile forces of the Hoplites, Thorax Swordsmen and the Citizen Cavalries rode to round up the Roman survivors while Anubis picked up his spear and blew a horn to gather his Hetairoi around him to surround the remaining Roman troops.

"First victory, this is a good head start let's hope we can keep it that way." Said Anubis as he watched Horus and Anhur forcing the Romans to surrender, laying down their arms and shields, even their own flags and standards as they march out in a column of prisoners whose fate waiting for Anubis to decide. His army would then march into Halicarnassus seeing much of the settlement had been burned down and the few survivors were weary of battles and shaken by the experience. Who knows what horrors the Roman subjected them to but the moment they saw Anubis riding into the city they began to stand up and turn their gazes upon him. Some of them bowed their heads in respect towards him, others began to welcome him by throwing in flowers and shouted their praises and cheers to the liberating army.

Anubis would then dismount Ramiel at the entrance of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus he gazed up on the magnificent structure that was built by Greek architects with Persian influences. The beauty and splendor of the structure's design and statues struck awe and inspired many for the great construction work that no doubt took years to complete before the inter passed away. He looked back at the populace of Halicarnassus before declaring his victory to them. "You have suffered and you have been liberated, from this day forward, no Roman feet shall taint these shores. This I vow!" He declared boastfully and the populace cheered him on throwing celebrations as they jeered and mock their Roman invaders when they saw the Romans being escorted into their prisons.

"Thoth write to Ra and inform him in details of the recapture is a success. I'll see to the prisoners and slaves the Romans had here." Said Anubis as he ran to the barracks that the Romans had used during their occupation. He walked inside and looked around noticing a number of Celts and Germanic auxilia dressed in red and yellow outfits working on the sheds, janitorial and other menial tasks. He then noticed a red haired Germanic Auxilia sorting the Gladius, his hair was long and flowy down his back and was curly around the ears. "Are you from Magna Germania?" Anubis asked the prisoner.

The man looked up to Anubis and squinted to the jackal's eyes perplexed by his appearance. "I believe I am. I am Gunter of Geats. Now what just happened out there? I heard the sounds of battle as if someone were to foolishly challenge the Romans… Yet you don't look Roman. Are you the jackal god over the dead?" Gunter asked carefully. He stood up to look at Anubis with a hopeful gaze seeing he was the farthest thing from anything Roman.

"There was a battle, someone foolish enough to challenge another to it alright. But it was the Romans this time being the fools." He stated with a bit of sarcasm and slight sense of humor as the Romans were hauled into the prison adjacent to the barracks in long lines before Gunter's eyes. "Like I said, this place is now Egyptian territory and you are due for a return to the Geats. Deliver the news as well if you see fit. Tell them that, Rome crumbles like any nations." Said Anubis as he handed Gunter a golden scarab with its wings spread out, this was a diplomatic symbol demanding diplomatic immunity from all sides, a ticket home for the Geats Auxilia.

"Same for the rest of the Auxilia here, I'm sure Thor would be happy to know this. Just as much as Odin. For now give me a list of equipment and weapons in this place so we can put those to better use." Said Anubis as he patted Gunter's shoulder before walking back out seeing the sun had reached morning at last with Halicarnassus liberated, he saw that the lines were miles long and the number suggested that they had destroyed a full legion no less. He walked to Thoth's side to meet with his mentor and discuss the matters. "One victory here is enough for propaganda ministers to erect Steles and monuments. Now comes the hard part, liberating Hellas." Said Anubis as he looked out at the Sea, his gaze turned Southward to where Alexandria would be beyond the horizon.

Thoth nodded to Anubis while writing a letter to Ra on the victory the Jackal Guards had achieved today. He was using one of his own black colored feathers and ink he had summoned himself in a casting spell to write with. He of course wrote neatly for Ra to ensure the message is not to be read incorrectly knowing the news now, and how valuable the victory was. "I concur. Hellas is the most major part in liberating Greece from this war. I'm sure your beloved Aphrodite will thank you dearly for your actions." Thoth said with a smirk on his face and a wink to Anubis.

"As for Athena i sense her and Ares will clash to the last breath. War between siblings. As for the monuments I do wish we had Vulcan with us, but Ptah may use his essence to assist us." Thoth said concluding his written letter to Ra. He let the ink dry and placed the feather inside of the ink vial. He looked up to Anubis and smiled. "And the Germanic tribes. Gunter before he left said his own personal war was not yet over. I have a feeling just by the soapstone he handed to me he'll return home to ready his men to the performance level of top vikings. Thor's army grows ever stronger." Thoth said now chuckling.

[hr]

Back in Alexandria, as the city was going through its day to day activities, mothers and children were gathered at the city's Post Office to receive news of their love ones on campaign and their ultimate fate. Crowds gathered in front of the cobble colored building of Hellenic construction dedicated to Hermes, they clogged the entrance trying to hear the various announcements and letters from their loved ones. Inside the place were staffs in Toga and scribes went about looking at the various letters and other assortment of items sent to them by delivery birds. As they went about their daily works, one of the staffs received a scroll with an Eye of Horus seal on it. The seal was golden and sapphire around it, this can only be an important delivery. The native Egyptian scribe took a closer observation of the letter before widened his eyes at the address it was going to. He quickly took to the horses outside and rode off to Ra's palace. Passing through the busy streets and Agoras, he arrived at the palace's entrance and ran inside with the letter in hand. "My Lord! Great Pharaoh Ra, Loving Sun high above there is news for you!" The scribe ran in and collapsed to his knees and handed the letter to Ra.

Ra grunted in surprise, and took the letter from the scribe's hand. Ra raised a brow to the scribe, and hummed. "I sincerely hope there isn't a famine… People keep collapsing in front of me…" Ra said as he opened the letter. He took a pair of reading glasses from his pocket, and placed them on his face to read the letter. He recognized it to be Thoth's handwriting which made his heart jump. Soon his eye darted back and forth as he read the letter, but to his pleasant shock it read of a victory for the Jackal Guards. Their first victory in their short history. "Is this true?!" Ra shouted as his heart beat with glee, and hope. As if this was a Valentine letter from an admirer. He picked the scribe up form off of the ground. "You! Inform the others. And get a meal. But first the others. They need to know!" Ra shouted finding it hard to focus on any subject.

"Yes my lord, at once!" The scribe quickly got to his feet and ran off to inform the other residents of the palace, soon, the deities like Isis, Aphrodite, Khepri, Bastet among others went to meet Ra in a haste. Isis herself held up her dress and met Ra with an expression full of surprise and confusion. "Ra is something happening? What news has come to our ears now?" She asked him as Bastet nodded to her while waving her fan around to clear out the hot air of the place. "You seem extremely happy and well father, perhaps something purrfect has occurred?" She asked while licking her paw.

"Yes there has been a great occurrence! I just received a message form Thoth. Isis you may want to view this for yourself. Seeing as you mothered Anubis." Ra said handing her the letter. However, his proud face never left, and clearly there was a lot he was still happy about. "It would seem the army fighting for us made by Anubis tasted sweet victory. Or bloody depending on you mind set on battles." Ra said chuckling with faith.

Isis held the letter and began to read through the lines of it, Thoth had described in details the events at Halicarnassus in great length and the thought of hearing her son standing victorious over the defeated Romans sent pride and joy into her heart. Some concerns were lifted from Isis as she passed the letter around to other deities to read it, but first she had to hold it in front of Khepri for him to read it thoroughly before handing it to Bastet, then Aphrodite. "I suppose an office promotion in the court is due for Anubis. Seeing how he managed to capture at least 44.000 new slaves for you and liberated a region from the enemy control." Said Isis as she sighed out knowing that her son had not failed her once in his life to this very point.

Ra as much as he enjoyed Anubis as his general tilted his head confused by the request. "Office promotion?" Ra grumbled thinking to himself for a minute and looking down while in thought. Under his breath he said, "Usually Thoth is the pen master and office worker. I would have imagined Anubis was the coach or jock figure hitting the gyms." Ra finished looking up. He nodded to her however.

Bastet who would usually revel herself in the joy and of palace banquets and dances with her cats raised her paw in the air to her father. "Purrhaps you could give him a promotion in military and diplomatic affair seeing how well he has performed so far in those two matters. Though on a more macro level Anhur and Sekhmet would obviously be more...fitting for the job." Said Bastet as she stroke her chin remembering Anhur's wit and Sekhmet's fury once combined forged a formidable army, Isis nodded to Bastet before adding her own spin to the suggestion. "I believe that Anubis's skill in matters of military tactics and his innovative, unorthodox methods compared to the elders like Anhur and Sekhmet warrant him an office in matters of Military Research and Development alongside Thoth's tutelage."

With those suggestions fresh in his mind, Ra snapped his fingers, and nodded to the fellow deities in the room. "Ah! A... hot… idea!" Ra said as he snickered to himself, enjoying his own wit, and puns. "Right then. I can let him research for the better for our own military. I'll face the facts our own defence forces have been left in the dark for far too long… not to say that is Thoth's fault. Oh no. Just that We've been a peaceful place for too long now." Ra stated. He paced back and forth on the possibility of a better defence by Anubis's thinking. "Although… Anubis does think a bit outside of the box… He tends to go out of our traditions quite often he does." Ra said.

Isis nodded to Ra recounting the past events that Anubis had overcome with ease such as the conquest of Nubia and the conquest of Syria. "Exactly, he is the Patron of the Dead, with each mortals facing their demise in a different way, clearly Anubis has inspirations for his reasoning outside of our traditions." She concluded while ripping a grape off its branch and eat it slowly by the table. "He's adaptive, like the Romans themselves. They took in what's beneficial to them and make good use of them. Therefore we should learn the ways of our enemies and defeat them with it." She said. Bastet nodded in agreement as she too was known for being rather mischievous and creative with her domestic methods of problem solving. "It does sound like a good idea in itself perhaps we should notify Anubis of the development then." Said Bastet in an inquisitive manner as her tail wagged around in the air like a noodle strand.

Ra sighed to himself, and slowly nodded. He came to a reluctant agreement he normally was not capable of agreeing with. He turned around to Isis to speak to her eye to eye. "Well. I suppose with the logic you stated I can safely say he is allowed to use his methods. To defeat the Romans he has to adapt like the Romans. We shall send him a message on the matter. But. Let's remind him not to get too carried away with this." Ra said firmly.

[hr]

Back at Halicarnassus, dusk has come to the place and Anubis's Jackal Guards were still busy cleaning up the battlefield, identifying dead bodies of soldiers and Legionnaires. It was cascade of gore and violence, Romans, Egyptians and Greeks, all lied on the same grassland and hilly terrain. Their blood spilled and mixed into one another while their weapons strewn all across the field with trampled grasses wet with the black and red substance. The combatants have fought to the best of their abilities, but now they all seem to have come to realization that they are and by all means, one and the same, mortals, humans. Not one of them looks different from the rest, as the bodies were carried off to be buried Anubis was seen counting the dead and injured men he had along with the Roman slaves he had captured. "450 men dead, 200 wounded, about 60 of whom will make a speedy recovery thankfully. I just hope that Ra enjoys his new slaves as I have no policies regarding Helots in my ranks." Said Anubis as he wrote the numbers down on his personal journal, he took a glance at the Southern horizon and saw an owl flying towards him before landing on his shoulder dropping a letter on his laps.

Curious at what it was, Anubis picked up the letter and saw that its seal was from Ra judging by the Hawk symbol on it showing him that this letter was as important as the one he sent out personally to Ra. He then carried it to Thoth to let him see what the letter could be about. "Thoth, we have a message, a reply form Ra perhaps but the seal suggests something much more important." He held the message up for Thoth to see and began to untie the seal from it to open the message and read its content.

Once the letter was open Thoth put his own reading glass on his face, and moved his eyes back and forth on the page to red the message. It didn't take long for his brain to process the message, and he looked back at Anubis with a large grin on his face. "Ah! This one is actually for you Anubis. I believe… yes that's right." He looked to Anubis's eyes and chuckled. "Already? Well it would seem you've been promoted by Ra. Just one victory, and already you've been promoted to higher level I see." Thoth stated. "Well congratulations friend. Normally Ra is more conservative, and more thoughtful in this thinking process of his, but with the current circumstances at work I believe he needed to come to this conclusion quickly." Thoth said.

"Well at least I won't have to worry about being late for the office now." Said Anubis in a sarcastic voice as he looked at the passages of the letter again and read them, noting his promotion to a position of "Master of Research and Development" in Ra's Military Council. Years ago when he was on campaign with Anhur and Sekhmet for experience, Anhur was the Master of Infantry, Sekhmet was the Master/Mistress of Horses and Horus was at that time Master of Guards while Anubis was merely Master of Supplies. Rear echelon duties wouldn't make him a competent fighter and soldier but it taught him the ever important task of handling logistic and supply train. With only one successful battle under his command, Anubis had become Master of a new office by Ra already, clearly his career was growing increasingly prominent. Perhaps the Romans will take notice of this soon but only time will tell.

[hr]

Back in Rome, while the sun was at Midday, the streets were quiet as the people of Rome enjoys themselves as much as possible. Some of the wealthier citizen chatted to their friends about how they got a new Villa in the countryside and some slaves to work the land while they were away serving in the Legions. One of them even bragged about becoming a Quaestor one day. But while the well off or rich continue on and on about their well being and fortune. They seem to neglect one detail, an important detail that spurred the war in the first place, the plight of the plebs. Servants, workers, builders and others were left starving in the streets without a roof over their heads, they crawl and begged everywhere they go for a grain to eat and a roof over their heads. Some were so desperate, sold themselves into slavery just to have a meal and a roof from the cold evenings. But while this was going on in the streets of Rome, the rich party on, they gathered at Circus Maximus betting their Denarii on the winning race teams or throw lavish spectacles at the Coliseum to see the blood bath. The expenses were enormous, meanwhile, in the senate, meetings between the Senators were being held in honor of Bellona and Vulcan their patron deities who were present in the place. One of the senator, Crassus stood before a map of the world, showing conquered territories under Roman control with his family the Brutii holding most of the Balkans and Greece.

However, Bellona sat on a throne chair looking down to her subjects increasingly disappointed by their thinking. Despite being a deity of war she was clearly growing tired of the constant war that the Romans had thrown themselves into. This was clear as seen by the bags under her eyes, and the dark circles around both of her eyes. She so far seemed to have been used rather than worshipped by her followers. She rested her head on her left hand on her crimson colored throne chair, and drifted in and out of consciousness. She growled, and looked down to the senate while tapping a finger on her right arm rest. "Alright you bean heads. What have you got for me this time? Another slave run? More territories? Another shipment of weapons?..." She said as she grinded her teeth together. "Or… More bread… for the rich citizens?..." she said with a disappointed sigh.

Next to her Vulcan looked down at the senate while tapping a hammer on a solid block of iron. With each tap on the block however the iron formed into a much smoother shape. As he kept tapping using his powers the dark iron block soon formed and molded into a metal chest piece. Vulcan squinted at the piece of armor, and shook his head giving off a disappointed groan. "Rubbish! That's barley even qualified to be called my work…" he said moving his hands over the armor and then crushing it as if he were balling a piece of paper into a rejected idea ball.

"Great deities of Rome, our people yearn for labor and works. For payment to feed their hungry mouths everyday and their children's wellbeing. Only the the proudest of the our citizens can afford the pride and accomplishment of serving in the Legions. However, I now have a project so grand it will provide long term jobs for our citizens in years to come." Said Crassus as he began to climb a ladder to put some highlights on the map, showing walls and military forts stretching along the Rhine's coasts, another wall on the island of Britannia and another set of walls stretching along the desert of North Africa to ward off the nomadic tribes of the regions. "We will build wall to defend Rome and the Barbarians will pay those walls in blood. These projects are estimated to last for 10 to 15 years of construction simultaneously and will provide our Plebs with the long term employment needed to sustain them. It will also provide opportunities to construct new Roman colonies and cities, wayfare stations across all provinces, each one connected by our roads." Said Crassus as he moved his pointer along the long snake like routes of the settlements with some wayfare stations added in between to help travelers and armies moving along.

However, Bellona squinted to Crassus confused by his statements. Her mouth opened slightly, and her eyes blunk trying to find logic. "Now wait one second here Crassy… This is supposed to bring profit to our poor citizens right? Employment." She said while yawning. She shook her head out which caused her hair to wave around slightly, and get in the way of her eyes. She brushed her hair out of the way and looked back down at Crassus growing anxious. "Now we are really in a tough pinch with money Crassus. You're saying like we can get people jobs, but here's where i'm confused. Where are you gonna get that money man? You can't just give them jobs and expect them to work with no pay man…. Unless you expect them to you know eat the blood of the so called barbarians. Only that would be cannibalism. Right Vulcboy." She said nudging Valcan with her elbow.

Vulcan clear his throat getting himself back to attention. "Oh what? Cannibalism? What? When was this decided?..." Vulcan asked confused. Bellona rolled her eyes and sighed. "Boy your mother really did drop you on your head didn't she?..." Bellona asked. "No. Well yes. Yes and no. She threw me from Olympus and I hit my leg on the bloody landing. Mother never really loved me." Vulcan said with a sigh. He rubbed his temples after bringing his fingers to the side s of his head. He groaned in a tired pain feeling his eyes burn. "Well I got some bad news for yah Crassus…. I can not forge much else for you… The economy is as Bellona said in a poor state right now. My finest works have been subjected to being made of scrap metal. I can't tell you how mad I'm being driven. Bored by my own profession. Each of my recent works as you just saw are nothing. I feel my power drain, but with the construction of a massive isolating wall how could I receive the materials I so need, and then fund an army for payment?" Vulcan said. He showed the current state of his power by raising some fingertips to the air, and had them crackle and fizz with orange energy. Although normally he was able to produce a nice trinket like a necklace, or even jewelry, but now with war, and his tired status he could barely replenish his mana.

Crassus of course held up his hands defensively in front of Bellona and Vulcan as he stuttered and try to reasons his way through the conundrum he had found himself into. "Please great Bellona and mighty Vulcan...with all respects we...we can afford food from the slaves working on our Villas and crops and any citizens signing up to these projects will have free meals for themselves. We have no need to…" He was soon cut off however when one of the younger faces in the crowds of the Senate popped up from his seat, he was a brown hair and tanned man in his 40s with a white toga complete with a red strip of paint along the edge of its fabric. He was furious with his gleaming green eyes glared at Crassus furiously with the fury that only Ares can muster.

"Crassus! Really? Are you trying to say that the Optimates, representing the best and brightest of Rome can not figure out a simple solution to the economy of Rome? The plight of our people is the result of their lack of citizenships just because they were born outside of the Italian Peninsula. Their hunger is caused by your appropriation of lands in the countryside and the excess of slaves from endless conquests. Their homes stripped from them for your palaces!" He threw an insult at Crassus, it was a stinging blow to the pride and dignity of Crassus the man who was the riches of Rome, the one man who stood high on the Palatine Hill but have nothing to share with the common men let alone his piers. Crassus growled and snarled, he gritted his teeth before launching into a tirade at the young Populist in the senate.

"The brightest minds of Rome have already figured out the solution, the plebs can sign up to the Legions who are in need of warriors to fight our conquests abroad. When they return, their bounties have been collected and they shall live well in their Villas!" Crassus retorted. But this prompted another senator to stand up from his seat, this one was a more elderly figure with grey hair and beard on him wearing a toga with blue color strip on its edge. "Really now? Then who will carry our foods to the tables? Who will smith in the forges and make swords and armor for our Legions? Who will work at the docks and launch our ships to the sea worthy of Neptune's expectations?" Asked the Scipii senator, he was furious at Crassus's lack of foresight in his planning of the construction of walls.

"No walls can ever protect Rome's borders!" Cried another Scipii as he stood up from his seat, he was as young as his Julii counterpart who held in his hand scrolls of economic reports as he read out loud the taxes of the Republic. "The previous season's record shows that Rome's taxes has been failing, our Plebs pay 4 times the amount they can afford while the Optimates such as ourselves pay not a dime to the Republic. The war machine of Rome needs fighters but in this current configuration our Legions can barely fight effectively if our people are left out of the service and must buy their own equipment. Why must they do so? Is it really a mark of pride and accomplishment?" The Scipii senator barraged Crassus eyeing him and question his ability to make a proper decision for the matter.

It was then that other Roman Senators of the Brutii and Optimates began to argue with one another a fiery verbal dogfight, the senate descended into madness as they sling mud, trade insults against one another and not one of them show pity or signs of compromises with the other. Bellona and Vulcan would have been disappointed for long if it weren't for one orator, a young brown haired figure stood up and shouted out loud at the top of his lungs. "SILENCE! Senators! We have grave news coming from Halicarnassus, one of our Legion has been defeated and utterly annihilated!" He declared, causing the entire room to fall into silent looking at him.

Bellona at that point had been eating a bag of popcorn, but the reality of the situation as announced by the orator caused her to gasp and inhale a stray piece into her air pipe. She gagged, but still remained shocked that the Romans had been defeated in Halicarnassus. She coughed violently, and fired the stray piece of food out of her lungs followed by her breathing in and out for air. "Woah! Seriously!? I didn't even hear the news and I'm the goddess of this shiz! I was just enjoying you guys bumbled and bitch at each other, but damn that really got out of hand!" She shouted shocked. Vulcan held his mouth open and felt his expression morph into one of shock. His hands clenched on the sides of his chair as the news hit him like a blunt brick. Romans were not invincible. Bellona herself let off a surprised huff out of her mouth while standing up before the governing body. "Well then. Who done it? Who was it that stood up, and proved their might eh?" Bellona said. The Romans in the room almost heard a sound of relief in her voice though. Her surprised expression didn't show anger or vengeance. Rather some type of relief.

The senator would then reply to her after clearing his throat though he sounded foreboding and rather horrified by it. Clearly he did not see the defeat coming to them in any way at all. "My spy told me that it was the Egyptians sending their grave hound, he commanded his own army now and it trounced Legio XI Sagittarius outside of Halicarnassus without mercy. This army is said to be...unnatural." The senator stopped before slowly put the scroll down on the table reeling from the information he had read. His eyes gleamed with warning to Bellona not to read it if her pride was too fragile but she must still read it to prevent Rome's defeats in the future. "You may want to read it yourself…" He said. The moment Bellona and Vulcan read the spy's report they learned of the army that defeated Legio XI, an army whose members were ghostly and undead, each of the warriors were suits of armor with intricate Egyptian hieroglyphs and Hellenic designs. They fought in the Hellenic style of Warfare with its commander so fearsome and ruthless on the battlefield, the Legatus of Legio XI was impaled by a lance and beheaded.

Bellona herself frowned at the information. It brought the Romans down to a level of reality she had finally hoped for, but reading of a damned army of undead soldiers caused a fright to grow in her body. She put the scroll down, and seemed off put by the information she read. "Well that explains why bone boy is leading an army. I thought it was Anhur and Sekhmet who did the military stuff. But I guess we gotta fight a damn army of souls now. Put that on my resume will you?" She asked in sarcasm while she shrugged her arms.

Vulcan took the news rather indifferent as well, but was frightened by the prospect Anubis was using an undead army. He placed his hand on his beard and scratched each one of his curly bristles thinking this over. "Well there's one way of war. Although, highly doubt that he's acting in lawful terms. Unless of course his ghost army is in agreement with serving as a soldier again." Vulcan stated. Bellona crossed her arms and let her hip lean to the side while looking to Crassus with a smirk on her face. "Well Crass master how about that? How can you kill what possibly can't be alive?" She asked in an ominous tone.

"Well uh...I was not versed in that matter. I'm afraid." Said Crassus in an embarrassing manner, as the Julii senator continued his oration. "I, Gaius Marius, proclaimed that in order to avert another disaster like this, we must reform our military system top down. From now on, the State shall pay for the weapons of their Legions and our citizens can join without problems regarding citizenships. That way Rome can expand its recruitment pool and have better military standards for future battles to come." Said Gaius as the other senators gasped while the Brutii stood up in an uproar proclaiming their rejection of such notions. They debated on and on with one another, trading insults back and forth trying to get the upper hand in their argument against one another. "The plebs serving without paying for their arms and armor? Ridiculous!" Cried one senator. "With their plights going on for years, how can you expect to raise a full legion in the future when our plebs no longer have lands to cultivate their crops?" Another fired back as the debates went on. When the factions were in a deadlock with no one to make a decision, they unanimously elected a Dictator to take office, the election was vigorous, with the Brutii electing their own member into office while the Julii did the same only they hope that Gaius Marius will get the office, the Scipii was the wildcard in all of this, few in numbers as they were, their vote can tilt the tide and balance of any votes. As the votes were casted and the ballots counted, the result was declared. "Gaius Marius has been appointed to the office of Dictator. For the next 6 months, his words are laws and his decisions are policies of Rome!" Declared the orator of the Senate as the senators fell into silence, they can't change or undo the vote.

With the fiasco in the room seemingly dealt with for now, Bellona simply tapped a foot on the ground. Despite Gaius Marius's statements to retain order in the room she herself found that the Roman high council argued like children trying to play a game of tag, or who goes first. She brought she walked among the men there feeling she was the outcast among them for being a women, and goddess, and simply one with more common sense than that of the others. "Okay well you guys found who get to go down the slide first. Good job, but now have you figured out how my boy Vulcan over there is going to build your great wall without materials still? I got an army to train, and all these new recruits are going to need some weapons." She stated.

Vulcan made a firm nod to her statements as well finding that literally building army from a plebian status all the way to a fine warrior would be impossible without a proper management of supplies. He thought already of organizing different types of materials from wood, to the different metals he could forge with, and all the way to cloth for the iconic Roman red armor. "She has a point. I can't forge a mighty sword without proper supplies on my side. I can forge at incredibly high speeds, but I just need darn supplies to do that with. And once I do I can mend the strongest and toughest of metal into the snies, but hardest hitting of swords!" he exclaimed proud of his power.

Gaius then stepped up and began to deliberate his point to the great blacksmith deity of Rome. "We shall waste no resources on walls and worthless fortresses! Our mines in the Iberia and the Gauls shall provide the forges of Rome with iron, bronze and steel to forge swords and armor of our Legions. The only wall Rome need is a wall of its people, citizen soldiers who embodies the motto 'Strength and Honor'!" He declared while holding a clenched fist in the air and the Julii and Scipii who voted for him clapped their hands and called out to him cheering his name on and call for him to save Rome from perils. For the time being, Bellona and Vulcan's concerns maybe be laid to rest but their concerns with Anubis was only growing for the time being.

[hr]

Back at Asgard Ratatoskr scurried and scampered around inside the palace ferrying news in a scroll to the almighty Thor, God of Thunder. He scampered to the wooden doorway of the God of Thunder's room and knocked on the door repeatedly in a rapid manner almost like a machine itself. He waited for Thor to open the door hoping that the constant knocking will get his attention soon. "Yo Thor, big guy of Thunder and muscle man! I got news from y'all edge lord Anubis!" Said Ratatoskr in an obnoxious voice.

Behind the door came an annoyed groan followed by the loud booming footsteps Thor made each time he took a step possibly due to the heavy boots he wore. The door in front of Ratatoskr of course made repeated clicking noises as Thor apparently kept multiple locks to keep out intruders such as Ratatoskr from entering unwelcomed. Once he opened the door he felt Ratatoskr's small hand tapping on his left shin in a repeated manner. "You can stop now. What news have you brought me?" Thor asked.

"Look at this! Edge lord Anubis and his home team has landed their first touchdown!" Said Ratatoskr as he handed Thor the paper note that bore the news of Anubis's victory at Halicarnassus and his liberation of Germanic Norse prisoners there. "See? The edge lord has dominated the Romans with his edgy, cool moves and someday I'll be like him!" He puffed up his chest and try to imitate a bodybuilder with rolling muscle masses.

"Now I'm starting a new show bizz in Asgard where people can bet where will Anubis invade next and have massive pitch battles with the Romans! Yay!" He tilted his head up in joy while waving flags in his hands, the two flags were both yellow flags with black Ankh symbol on them.

As much as Ratatoskr's shenanigans seemed to burn a hole in the back of Thor's head from annoyance alone; it seemed the news regarding Anubis as the victor of the fight gave Thor something to smile about. Beneath his beard the sides of his lips rose up, and he even managed to let off a subtle and quick chuckle.

"Good to know. But I wouldn't invest your time in creating a gambling ring O-hyperactive messenger. Wars are not all one victory after another. No there are losses in war. This was just a major victory for our allies. One that will fill them with hope, but just enough not to fill their egos, and cause them to grow cocky." Thor stated in a stern tone. "Now what else have you brought for me?" Thor asked.

"Glad that you asked! Golden statues of course!" Ratatoskr dug his hand into the pouch on his hips and began to pull out some golden statues figurines, these were apparently awards for something but Thor had no ideas what these were meant for. Only at the bottom of the figurines they said "Oscar Award".

The squirrel giggled seeing Thor's face when he saw the awards before beginning to walk away from him nonchalantly. "I hope you like your awards Thor! The people of Midgard are so creative with their entertainment industries." He bolted away and scurry off to the basement of Asgard he walked down and whistle a tune that he had learned from his countless spying and stalking of the mortals in Midgard.

The sly messenger of the Gods went down to where Fenrir was being held in restraints not expecting anyone else but him, only to hear someone, a feminine voice coming from where Fenrir was and he quickly ducked behind a wall to spy on the strange intruder. He slowly moved his head around the corner to see and saw before his two beady eyes a long black haired woman in dark dress, Hel, the daughter of Loki.

Curious at her sudden arrival in Asgard under Thor's own noses, he opted to scurry up to the beams above Fenrir's head and scamper over to the Unbound's head and listen in on their conversation, his large ears perked straight up as he leaned his head around to hear the conversation closely. From the looks of things he can tell that this was serious and not some typical brother-sister prison visit.

To Ratatoskr's horror she seemed to be describing a plan to Fenrir that seemed to be extremely ominous with the intentions. She placed a hand underneath Fenrir's chin while giving him a seemingly caring, and innocent smile. Yet her seemingly kind and caring smile seemed to have a very ery and deceptive look to it. She spoke in that same caring soft voice that reflected her appearance at the moment. "Ohhh what have they done to you my brother?... You know our father is worried sick for your state right now." Hel said in a light voice.

However, despite her caring nature Fenrir still bore his sharp glowing teeth at her, and snarled a fierce growl to her angered by her presence. "Oh? He really cares about me then? Then he would have tried harder by now to free me from this damned prison… You would have as well! No one. NO ONE! Even attempted to argue, or even make the slightest attempt to negotiate my freedom!" Fenrir shouted as he writhed around in his heavy chains. The slightest movements caused each of the chain binding Fenrir's body to let off a booming, and yet high pitched metallic jingle that echoed all through his personal dungeon.

Hel however let off a gentle shush that seemed to rival the sound of the jingling chains. Her own gentle hush echoed through the prison like a sharp wind. "Well that's not entirely true Fenrir. Father has been fighting for you. Just out of sight. He sent me here after all right? He's come up with his own plan, a plan to let you loose. And…. For you to truly receive something you so desire. I can feel it in you. That rage." Hel said with a more ominous voice.

Listening closely to the exchanges between Hel and Fenrir gave Ratatoskr a shudder, he felt his heart sank and his carefree spirit evaporated at the sight, his thoughts were in chaos realizing that Hel's intentions with Fenrir were not so friendly at all. The squirrel shook and buckled and quickly scampered away to a more secure location and whipped out his phone to record Hel's exchange with Fenrir all the while his paws were holding onto the device in a weak grip, unable to keep a firm and stable hold of the device. His fear was that his evidences would evaporate in a sudden with a single drop.

Fenrir let off a grumble to Hel's statement feeling her soul darken. He raised a brow to her brave assessment. "And what I want is my own personal revenge… For my torment so bestowed on me by Odin… What give him any right to decide the fates of children? For one of us to be casted into the underworld, another to be thrown into the sea, and for me to be seemingly the one to be cared for only to be toyed with." Fenrir said in a depressed manner. Truly none of his siblings were given even the most graceful of fates, but thinking of Odin's cruelty just made Fenrir more enraged. He looked at Hel's neck and moved both of his hands in a manner that made both of them squeeze into a shaking grabbing motion.

Again however Hel shushed him. "Revenge is what you so want Fenrir. For each of us and yourself. And father has promised that to you…" Hel said as a purple mist floated up form her body. Her appearance changed into a much darker persona while her smile faded away all before Ratatoskr's eyes. "When the time is right Fenrir, father says to strike at the very heart of the pantheon… He said to draw blood from our grandfather when the time is right." Hel said with a frown forming now on her face. A deep scowl reflecting her devious intentions.

As Ratatoskr was recording the conversation, his phone suddenly rung up with a jingle informing him of his Social Network update, this caused Ratatoskr to hastily scramble to get the phone back to Thor. He ran as fast as he could with his phone inside the satchel but the satchel's lid was poorly strapped by the haste of his motion. He scurry on the metal beams but as he ran, the movement knocked the strapped lid open and the phone fell out of it. "Nooooo!" He screeched out seeing the device falling down on the ground, it tumble and flipped in the air while Ratatoskr watched in petrified fear, he saw his soul in rectangular form fell to the ground and shatter violently into pieces. "My life! My soul! Now how am I suppose to update my Furbook and Bleeter status!?" He went to his knees before the phone's shattered pieces and cry a river.

Ratatoskr saw the foot of Hel step next to the broken remains of his phone. Once he looked up all he saw was her deceivingly innocent form looking down at him. Her sickly deceiving smile looked down at him filling his heart with terror knowing that at any moment her personality could switch from caring to killer in a moments notice. "Awww. Did the squirrely here break his precious belongings?... How unfortunate for you… Do you need a hug?..." Hel asked, but by now a hug could easily mean a snap of the neck.

Fenrir looked over to Ratatoskr however, and licked his lips. "Ahhh i see my meal has fallen down from the seeming heavens finally. Although he's only a snack to me... it lacks any fat or muscle for me to even be near full… As if that were to ever even happen… My hunger is endless…" Fenrir taunted to Ratatoskr.

"No Hel, I need not thee's love for thou hath melted this heart of fur and deceits!" Said Ratatoskr in an over the top high pitched voice sounding rather...British like as he collect the pieces of his phone in his paws before starting to walk away. "Off to flight I must cast this mortal coil now, to me sanctuary I shall remain!" He then began to hop away from the dungeon and make his way out to the safety of Valhalla's upper floor before dropping the act and curl up inside a broomstick closet with his broken phone in hands. "Oh man I got the evidence and now I just have to lose it! No way can I tell Thor or Odin let alone anyone in Asgard of Hel now, but I gotta do something." He thought to himself in a monologue as he rolled around on the floor trying to think of someway of informing Thor and Odin of Hel and by possible extension Loki's plot. But unfortunately for him, he had squandered his opportunities to be trustworthy a long time ago and now with time racing against him, and the world on his back, he had to make sure the news get out, somehow.


	5. Chapter 4: Summer, Harvest, War

It had been a week since Halicarnassus's liberation from the Romans, as the Jackal Guards were helping the populace rebuilding the settlement and cultivate the lands with the Roman slaves being put to good use. Anubis was now at the docks of the settlement, he paced back and forth waiting for Ra to arrive to join him for a high level invasion plan. Next to him was Athena with her Aegis shield resting on her feet and her dura spear in hand standing guard of the Egyptian deity and general. "You should ease up your tension Anubis. After all we are not expecting the enemy to attack anytime soon." Said Athena as she saw him being rather stressed out at the moment.

"I know that Athena, but it's not the enemy or Ra I'm worried about, it's...Aphrodite, she and I haven't seen each other for more than a week now." He sighed out before finally stop his pacing and sat down on the wooden plank of the dock looking forward out to the open sea. "If love is what bother you so much, then you must face the source of this fear in your heart." The Goddess of wisdom lectured him, which led him to sigh out before seeing Ra's personal flagship rising on the horizon, golden sail with glittering sunlight glow on the Octareme as he saw Ra standing on the bowl of the ship as it was entering port. "Company! Attention!" The captain ordered his men as the warriors stood at attention with their spears and Hoplos in hands with Anubis standing before them to greet Ra.

The flagship's crew layed out a wooden platform for some of Ra's servants to step down while Ra himself was carried on a bed he laid on. Although, the appearance lbled him clearly as royal with each of the servants gladly carrying his bed by wooden planks on the left and right of the front of the mattress. Ra's bed was then lowered to the ground, and he stepped out into the sun to meet with Anubis finally. As Ra stepped off from the bed he held his hands behind his back with his staff carried in one hand. Ra's golden glowing eyes met with Anubis's showing a proud expression towards the jackal deity. "Finally we get to meet each other after a about a week of this bloody long conflict!" Ra exclaimed.

Anubis nodded to Ra as he kept up his posture of a military figure leading his troops. "It is, one week in and we've landed a knockout blow to the Romans initiative. However the situation in Hellas hasn't changed much. I have an invasion plan to liberate Hellas ready just need an approval from you." Said Anubis as he begin to lead Ra with him to the Army Barracks. But the moment his eyes looked up on the ship's deck his jaw drop when he saw Aphrodite coming along with Ra just to see him again. "I'm sorry for the long wait, Aphrodite. But I keep my promise with you, staying alive and well for you." Said Anubis as he held her hands in his and hugged her into his armored chest.

Aphrodite herself wrapped her arms around Anubis's back after waking towards him. She herself pressed the side of her face in Anubis's muscular chest. She breathed in, and let off a long sigh enjoying him in her company once again after a week apart. "I know hun. It's been only a week, but it feels like a year since we last saw each other… Are you giving those Roman brutes a fight they won't come back to?" Aphrodite asked while her hands moved up and down Anubis's back in a gentle massage feeling his muscular build.

"I am Aphrodite, I am. I promise you Hellas will be liberated soon and the moment those Romans have to fight me, they'll regret the moment they sign up to the Legions." Anubis stated boastfully to Aphrodite but kept his calm and composure before leading her into the settlement of Halicarnassus with him. The place had a governor villa that was now being commandeered by Anubis as his personal HQ since it was close to the Barracks where his troops were stationed. Aphrodite and Ra can see that the place was being rebuilt one building at a time with the fields being cultivated again, naturally the Romans were given red shirts to wear as they work on the public projects and properties of the community. "Since we can't deport them off immediately, having them repair the damages they've caused seems to be the best option we have at the moment." Said Anubis as he led them to the governor villa where he pushed the door open and welcome them inside the place. The villa was of Greek architect since it was built by the settlers, the place had a lounge area with grape garden along with a sunny backyard in Hellenic fashion that will remind Aphrodite and Athena of home.

"A brilliant place to live indeed Anubis, you do know how to enjoy life for someone who's having a hard time with it." Athena commented as she inspected the mansion and the grandeur that Greek architect had in the construction with marble and limestone statues and figures of the Olympian deities on the roof and other structural spots of the villa. Anubis nodded to her as he show Aphrodite the seaside view of the mansion with the Mausoleum at the center of town, where they can all see it.

The sight of the seaside city, and the sight of the massive Mausoleum of Halicarnassus gave Aphrodite a sensation of glee and happiness. No longer feeling home sick she rested her arms on the marble guardrails of the balcony with each column of the guard rail having a curvy form that gave Aphrodite a feeling of her personal room. "Oh Anubis. You doggy this is beautiful… I can see everything from this room…" Aphrodite said in awe.

Ra himself looked to the view more with a squint not as relaxed due to the situation he was now placed into. He grumbled to himself. "I suppose if you can ignore what just took place here. I have no time for admiring the sights. I can barely relax honestly." Ra said with a powerful sigh of disappointment. "I know my blood pressure and emotions should be watched, but how could I relax in a time like this? I'm just thankful for the fact that civilization hasn't crashed without Zeus yet!" Ra exclaimed.

Anubis groaned and sighed out knowing that the murder of Zeus had been put on hold due to the sudden outbreak of the war, he therefore look to Ra to calm the elderly bird deity down first by patting his shoulders lightly before whispering to his ears. "Speaking of Olympus, I have a military meeting coming within the hour at the Barracks, I'll meet you there." Said Anubis before he looked back at Aphrodite and kissed his cheeks. "I have to get to the barracks and prepare a meeting there. I'll meet you again soon after that. I promise you, Hellas will be freed again." He said to her before hugging her in and whimper softly at the affection that Aphrodite and him share before break off and head out to the barracks of the city.

There, he set up an officer meeting room with a long table for him, Anhur, Sekhmet, Horus, Thoth, Ra and Athena to attend. On the wall of the room hung the banner of Egyptian Pantheon and in the middle of the room before the table was a tabletop battle map of Hellas, Crete and Asia Minor with pieces set up by Anhur and Horus to denote general military disposition of Roman legions in the country. The bulk of their forces were concentrated in the province of Attica, Epirus, and Macedonia and one Legion in Peloponnesian and another on the island of Crete. Additional pieces representing Anubis's own army on Asia Minor with the remnants of Greek forces concentrated around Pergamon still in need of retraining. He sat down by the General chair waiting for the invited members to show up.

Soon enough both Thoth and Ra entered the room. Thoth himself using his magic to make a grace full ice skating motion into the room. Under his right arm Thoth had his trusted book of which still many knew so little of. A mystery to everyone, but Thoth. Thoth moved to the right of the table where he sat down followed by him laying out his book on the table in front of him open. "Alright. So a battle plan? I'm no deity of war personally, but my wisdom can offer some light here." Thoth said.

Ra finally entered the room while he himself simply levitated into the room. He held his staff in one hand while his wrist pivoted at an angle to hold his staff behind his lower back while the staff itself was held horizontally. Ra moved his head upwards in a quick nod to Anubis in his greeting. He motioned over to his own seat, and pulled it backwards before sitting down. He grumbled to himself and moved the seat forwards to the main table. "About time we discussed how to kick the Romans back to spaghetti land. I'm anxious to see what's in store here." Ra said while he placed his elbows on the table in front of him. He moved his hands over his beak and intertwined each of his fingers together in a finger tenting pose while he thought careful on the situation.

Sekhmet sat down next to her father accompanied by Anhur as they watch Anubis began to elaborate his plan of attack against the Romans in Hellas. "Right then, let's get this plan going so I can get my bloodbath going." She said with an unhealthy enthusiasm towards violent and vicious bloodsheds that would disgust all men who come across her. "So far as we know, the Romans have a tight grip in Hellas, they hold major settlements such as Corinth, Athen, Sparta, Larissa and Pella. Their Legions are concentrated in the Thessalonica plains and Athen's surrounding area to pacify the country and control strategic targets like economic and troops production centers. Therefore, my plan of attack will first have an initial reconnaissance and diversion phase with Hermes and Apollo dropped on Greece to gather intelligence on their disposition and exact conditions." Anubis then placed pieces of Apollo and Hermes on the ground at the location of Athen first to show how his plan would play out.

"Then, I will have my messenger Gunter the Geats sailed up to the province of Dacia to entice the already rebellious population there to rebel against the Romans." With that Anubis laid out a map of the province of Dacia that the Romans marked in Red declaring it as a place with low public order and satisfaction with the Roman rules. There were also arrows and markers indicating Roman advances into the region and major strongholds of the Dacians. "With the Dacians in open revolt, the Romans will divert their forces in Greece up to quell the insurrection, that will give us an opening to attack and liberate Hellas. My forces will land at Corinth, Sparta and Crete to take over the places simultaneously before pushing up to take Athen back." He pushed the pieces of his army from Halicarnassus over the sea and up to the three locations that he had planned out for an invasion. However Athena was quick to see that there was a flaw in this plan one that might be too fatal for Anubis.

"You are bold and daring in your execution Anubis but your forces will be split too thin and too far out to fight the Romans properly." Said Athena as she walked over and placed the pieces representing the Greek Army and Navy at Halicarnassus to show her meaning without a word.

To her credit Thoth agreed by nodding to her statement in agreement. He summoned a simple pointer made from wood to reach out towards the map on the table. He circled it over Athena's statements of an army spread too thinly over land. "I'm think she's right. With your troops too far spread out over these massive expanses of land then you're leaving yourself far too open for a brutal attack. The Romans will surely swing in with their own forces and butcher our own." Thoth said ominously as he use dhis pointing stick to position Roman forces as a threat against the Graeco-Egyptian forces.

Ra sighed and kept his pose while squinting towards the established strategies in ply already. "Well that does not give us too many options anywhere else knowing the Romans overwhelming numbers can cripple us at any one location. I doubt they would allow that same strategy to fool them twice!" Ra exclaimed.

Anubis sighed out seeing the flaw of his plan as he tried to rethink the approach. "The terrain of Hellas is mostly mountainous and hilly narrow land so even if we don't have the number in our favor we still have the terrain to force them into choke points." He countered, remembering the Battle of Thermopylae where the Greeks held their ground against the Persians using the mountainous terrains to force their foes into a narrow pass where they can hold back the immense number with Phalanx formation. "But the Roman generals are more cunning than the Persian rigid command structures, they are more flexible and can swing their forces back around you. Supposed that you took Corinth and Sparta, you would still need a supply chain and logistic support to keep your army moving." Athena reminded Anubis before pushing her pieces at Athen, the port and docks there as he remember were advanced enough to set up a logistic route for his army to resupply continuously. 

"If I take only Athen, I'll be boxed into a narrow area and exposed on both flanks when I intend to move out...The Romans can still overwhelm us and rollback our gains." Said Anubis as he struggled to find a way to solve the problem that was bearing down on his back. "You won't fight alone, the people of Hellas are with you. Give me time and an army will be organized to aid you." Said Athena as she put her hands on his shoulder and pointed her index finger to the pieces of the Greek Army on the table. "So, let a Greek army retake Athen, so you can set up the logistic chain, while I take Peloponnesian to cut off their troop production." Anubis deduced the intention of Athena and feeling defeated on the table for once by the Goddess of Wisdom but wisdom was something he appreciated instead of just another goblet of wine. "How long do you need?" He asked Athena, "One year. From Pergamon, we'll set sail at the same time as you." She finished her claim, this gave Anubis a sigh feeling that he may not like the wait as the Romans might have learned on their own or with their spy that an invasion was underway. "One year sounds like a long wait for all of us." Said Anubis as he looked back at the map to review the plan.

As much as the year long wait gave Thoth a feeling of exhaustion, and anxiousness; there was the factor he recalled in the fact that with the long expanse of time comes a proper learning experience. "Hmm. I'll give her this. Within that time frame we can supply our troops with better weapons that can pierce through the most resilient of armor. Thinking on this that may give us time to prepare our troops for combat catered to counter anything the Roman war machine throws our way. Well and… This would not be the first time we would need to wait between long expanses of time. Horus and you would know this the best." Thoth reminded Anubis.

Anubis nodded to the wisdom of Thoth seeing that he and Horus had been staying away from Egypt for a long time in their youths, namely when Horus was a young toddler forced to live in hiding from Set. "I can't deny that notion. One year from now we'll invade Hellas in a simultaneous 3 prongs attack. One for Athen, one for Sparta and another for Corinth. The three armies will meet up at Thermopylae to set up camp and prepare for a Roman counter attack against them." Anubis concluded as he put the rest of his pieces on the table and reorganized the strike force's overall invasion routes. "But to make sure, we need to tighten up security around Halicarnassus and round up all Roman spies to prevent them from giving away too much. Also in the meantime, the Egyptian Main Army at home could use the long break to reorganize and train up with new weapons and equipment to further hone their skills. They'll be needed to take Crete and shut down Roman access into the Aegean sea and reinforcement flow." Said Anubis with Athena nodding to him before handing Ra a gladius, the standard Roman stabbing sword made of steel, Ra can see his own reflection of the blade's surface like a mirror. "Take time to study this weapon and its usage Ra, as it may help improve Egyptian army fighting techniques against our foes."; "You might also want to take command of the Main Army as well Ra, since we are at war and a King such as yourself need to lead the army just as much as your generals." Anubis stated to Ra as he kept his arms crossed.

The statement gave Ra a moment to think more serious on his reign of being king. Looking into the gladius reflection of himself he could feel power he hadn't felt in some time. He stood up, and placed his left hand behind his back with his hand balled into a fist. With the gladius in his right he made a fencing gesture, and spun it around in his hand. He still remembered fighting Apep not as a king, or even as a general, but more as a mere soldier against a massive force of evil. He stopped and held the gladius firmly pointed to a wall in front of him, and envisioned his enemy to be held by the blade's point at the neck. "Hmm… Perhaps. It's been a long while since I've been on the field of battle, or even wielded my own weapon…" Ra said as he spun the gladius around in his right hand before allowing the blade to point upwards a the ceiling. "I think I can make do in melee still." Ra said with confidence.

"I'd be happy to help retrain you father." Sekhmet said with a purr, a rare one at that while Anhur chuckled hearing his sister would suddenly be so friendly or playful in a sudden considering that she was well known for her blood thirstiness and general warmongering attitude. It surprised everyone as to how can Ra keep her under control but alas with their plan in place and time on their side, the generals would slowly prepare their armies for an invasion of Greece.

[hr]

At Rome while the Coliseum was bustling with the spectacles of Gladiatorial games and the markets full to the brim with slaves from the far corners of the Earth and other assortment of goods beside the usual goods of food or furniture. The plebs went about their daily lives but now more and more of them were heading to the Army Barracks of the city and sign up for military service. They gather in drove, desperate to escape the hell that was their lives on the streets of their Eternal Capital begging for grains and love from the better offs. Within the quarters of the barracks they line up on the drill yard each one sporting a red shirt without a single weapon in hand. Today they were to be trained in the basics of military discipline.

Today they were met by the sight of the dark haired goddess of warfare, Bellona. Her appearance today looked more intense, and intimidating to each of the men there jus by the furious red of the cloth she wore, and the brilliant shining armor she wore. The shining gun metal armor on her torso and chest combined with the massive gold and silver colored shield on her left hand with an oversized sword wielded within her right hand told of both power and strength on her part with most deities of war being male save for Sekhmet. She eyed each of the men in front of her, and grumbled. "Hmm. Not sure if these boys are really ready for this. Welp. TIme to bulk 'em up." She said to herself.

In the background of the training grounds Vulcan had already set up various obstacles, and cover the Roman recruits will be using. In the center of the training ground Vulcan had hastily constructed wooden columns with silver colored hemispheres attached to them. Around the outside were wooden blocks for cover in a monolith standing shape while other constructions within the arena were stone walls made into a circle around the perimeter of the obstacles within the walls. Vulcan himself was toying around with a mini cannon while looking towards the men lined up. "War boys eh? No weapons for them i'm afraid. Just an obstacle course to get them fast and furious out there." Vulcan said sarcastically.

"Can't believe my luck Felix, we'll be trained by Bellona herself, perhaps she'll bless us." Said one of the recruits as he brace himself for orders, "Aye Maximus, I'm betting that we'll be transfer to the Gauls or Germania real soon after this." His friend remarked as their Maniple Commander began to shout out his orders to them. "Atten hut!" The Centurion shouted and the men snapped to attention with their eyes beaming forward at Bellona direction. They all feel a strange sense of unity and connection to one another for a brief moment. Much to their joy since most have seen the abandonment and isolation of poverty stricken life on the streets of Rome for too long.

Bellona then casually walked onto the training field, her sword slung on her right shoulder while she walked. She moved in front of each of the men and cleared her throat. "Well I see we have a bunch of boys here ready to to get down and dirty in out little playing field made up by Vulcan over there." She said as she gestured over to Vulcan. He waved his hand over to them acknowledging his announcement and whistled. Bellona huffed out a quick laugh and turned her attention back to the recruits. "Now i know how much you men want to get into the big swords, and shields combat. Heck. i think each one of yah want to bludgeon you friend next to yah. But! That's not happening today." Bellona stated firmly as she swung her sword forwards. The tip of the sword impaled the ground in front of her, and cracked in several location outwards. Making each men either turned on, or shudder form her power. "For today's lesson you'll be running the gauntlet. A series of obstacles that are made to bruise you, beat you, and make me weed out which one of you has the best gene pool. In this test you'll really feel each of your muscles burn and ache, but that pain should feel good once you start seein' your muscle mass grown until you're as well built as that guy!" she exclaimed pointing her sword to the centurion.

"Legionnaires march!" Ordered the Centurion as the recruits began their Summer training to form up and move in formations, they marched in large square stacks from one end of the camp to another, the recruits felt strangely in unison and their purposes clearly expressed with every steps they take. Simply by marching from one end of the camp to another and not hearing the Centurion grilling them for a mistake they made. Soon, they heard the Centurion barked out order for them to stop and face back a the Centurion himself and Bellona. They saw that before them were suits of armor, helmets and Gladius swords in sheaths, there were also signature Scutum shields with Pilum spears inside each shields's handles. "This is only the beginning men, your ability to maintain formation cohesion along with your skill with your weapons are keys to battlefield survival and bringing glory to Rome." Said the Centurion as he picked up the Gladius sword.

"This is your wife, your lover and only family member here. A Gladius can easily bring down the mightiest of Barbarian brutes with one well aimed stab. Observe!" The Centurion ordered as he approached a drill dummy with his Gladius in its sheathed slung on the right side of his body. He approached it in a combat manner with his Gladius was pulled from its sheath by his right hand. He quickly stabbed the dummy by its neck and chin and thrusted the blade deep into the insides tearing apart the straws and other wheat of the dummy. "As you can see, your stab can quickly kill your enemy who will exhaust themselves with slashes. Stab in place of slash. Remember that." Their instructor reminded them before putting the Gladius back in its sheath and step back to let them familiarize themselves with the armored suits.

The young legionnaire recruits had a somewhat unforgettable moment when they pick up their armored suits and helmet strapping each pieces on their body and strapping the helmet on their head. With the suits in place and their weapons properly slung on them, the marching drill resume but now with the added loadouts burdening on their backs. This pack wasn't the only group going through the training, others from the city's plebeians were soon shuttled in with Centurions from various fronts drilling them in the same manner as they march out over long period of time to get the men adjusted to their equipment and weapons loadout.

Bellona from the side lines watched the recruits train. She kept her eye on each one of the judging how uniform and unified each man was all the way down to how much time passed in between each step they took. She stood up suddenly, and walked into the training field to walk among each of the formations. Her eyes darted and judged each of the men. Physically each of them were very thin, and not as well fed as she had hoped recruits would be. "Damn. Okay not a problem. Just get some grub ready. Hey! That was a second off in that foot step! Keep with it!" she shouted abruptly pointing her sword at the grunts of the future legion. She made a firm frown, and nodded knowing her voice was final. She continued walking among the men there occasionally shouting at recruits falling behind their allies, or out of sync in the march. "Keep at it! Just listen for the loud stomping sounds you all keep making. One unified march boys! It will sound like an earthquake if its a big disorganized slop!" she chanted to them.

As the recruits finished their training sessions with their Centurions, they were retired to their barracks and rest for the time being, the first day was hard on them. But it was a step up compared to being left to die of hunger on the streets of the Eternal Capital they were taught to love and protect since childhood. This was their escape and they seem to love it despite the hardship. However, not all were going well, for Rome has many enemies, sending their legions to the right place was the important question that demands answers and soon. The Legions continued their training in the coming months as they once again march in barracks, hold ceremonies for Jupiter (Who was actually Zeus and was dead), others began to conduct combat training with each man stabbing an enemy dummy before moving to the back of the line for their comrades in the rear to have a shot at the enemies as well.

However, they were about to endure their most gruelling training yet, survival. Individual survival skills were not something that the Roman legionnaires would hone for their army but it was going to be much needed. The reality of war show that soldiers can and will get lost and stray from their main formations, and so, the ability to take care of one's self help the military logistic force carrying less and have to tend to less demands than before. The new recruits were now marching from Rome to Capua, they marched on the paved highways of the Empire in long and narrow formations. By day they were marching without end but by nightfall, they were camping inside a forest near Capua. Though not far from the city, they can still get lost. The camp had wooden stakes set up around its perimeters to deter intruders and attackers. The center were the tents for officers and Bellona and Vulcan. The area to the South of the camp were for Praetorian Guards while the Northern section belonged to the servicemen.

Bellona in the tent inspected her sword carefully for any sign of damage. Her eyes scanned for the slightest scratch, but now she knew the recruits in the camp were resting, or they should be. She looked up to Vulcan who was quickly weaving necklaces made out of items on the forest floor. Mainly leaves and twigs his powers weaved into a beautiful and yet primitive looking necklace. "Are any of the soldiers up Vulcan? Any stragglers out of bed?" Bellona asked using a cloth to polish her sword.

The odd question made Vulcan snort in a short sarcastic laugh. "Well if they were then by gods they'd be zombies. No man can lift themselves up without rest after today. I'd wager they'd be in bed sleeping tight. While they can at least." Vulcan said as he place a newly finished leaf necklace in a pile of necklaces. He looked at Bellona tending to her sword still and chuckled as if confused. "I hate to brag, but i've been forging for so long I can safely say the sword is good. Not even a scratch. You keep that you'll be obsessed as Thor." Vulcan said jokingly.

However, his statement was met with a stern huff. "You can't be too careful. To me the slightest scratch will lead to an untrusted weapon. This here. This is all you got. If you can't rely on you allies then this is your best friend. It hasn't let me down once." She boasted placing the sword gently on the table in front of her. She looked at the pile of necklaces Vulcan made, and let out her own sarcastic huff. "I have the problem? You have enough I think of those. I mean they are nice, but I don't think you need that damn many." She stated. "What? This was just how i get to sleep easier." Vulcan replied. However, bellona herself didn't seem too keen on rest just yet. Or at all knowing the men she raised, and trained were well on their way to being soldiers in a real situation.

As the Legionnaires slept peacefully at night, they were unaware that the wagons carrying their supplies weren't going to arrive to meet them soon. Food in the storage house was growing increasingly scarce, the Legionnaires themselves were sleeping still but the sound of the Centurion's voice calling them out to assemble woke them up. They raced out of their tents and congregated by the center of the camp. "Sons of Mars! Listen up! Our wagons are unable to catch up to us soon enough, by sunrise you will all be starving husks, therefore to avoid such disasters, you are to forage your own food from the nearby forest! Hunt, pick fruits and fish even, do anything to bring meals to the table by dawn! Move out!" The Centurion barked out and the Legionnaires quickly went to grab their weapons and equipment and went into the nearby forest and began to find some meals, they forage for fruits like apples from trees, others went to fish by the rivers and streams and others hunt wild deers in the forest. The Velitest used their wolf pelts to lay down and lure other wolves close to them before going for the kill.

The troubling news sent Bellona into a panic. She marched around the capm kicking rocks hard enough they met the mesosphere. She grumbled and crossed her arms nervous. "Oh great! Just great! A massive pile of dead bodies of soldiers I was supposed to raise to combat effectiveness and they'll all die of starvation! How… Who is responsible? I told those bleeding nimrods to take the best damn route! Idiots!" She said grumbling to herself much to the fears of some of the men in the camp.

Vulcan of course only watched as she made her temper tantrum known to others around her showing her rage. Vulcan knew the stakes set in place and each soldier's live being in the hands of Bellona. Almost literally. Being a war goddess she could feel each of thee recruits hunger as if it were her own, and the pain each one fetl if they got an injury. It caused her to drain and feel exhausted by the responsibility in her hands, and the fact her stress would not let up on her. However, Vulcan saw the situation differently. Instead of panicking he looked around the forest and began thinking of the opportunity they had landed themselves in. "Hmm… You know Bellona his might be a stroke of luck for us." Vulcan said.

Bellona only glared at Vulcan almost offended by his statement of luck when at the dire time it seemed luck was nowhere to be seen. "Oh! Easy for you to say… What luck! Our logistic transport is late, I got starving men, I feel like I'm mothering these people now dammit, and I got backers behind me bumbling around like morons wrapped up in their money, and bread! How could there be a way out of this one ' ' How?" Bellona asked.

"Look around yah! Its a forest! We have one guy on our side right now to give these lads a training session they won't soon forget!" Vulcan exclaimed. Bellona's eyes brightened, and she let out a short gasp. "Oh wait! We do! Sylvanus!" She shouted. Bellona brought a hand to her mouth, and gave off an extremely loud ear splitting whistled that cracked through the forest reaching the ears of a very elderly looking deity.

He had a long white beard, and short flat topped hair. A caucasian lanky and thin body almost too frail to be even consider a deity, and yet his wise and yet elder stature were enough to grant him the appearance. He shot up awaken suddenly by the whistleformely laying down on a thick branch of a tree completely surrounded by leaves. "Oh dear. A mercy me it's so early to be up for poor Sylvanus. Oh well the war maiden is-a-callin' my name!" He shouted. He used a bent and twisted walking stick to tap on the tree he was laying on. However, it turned out that actually hsi tree as more animated than it looked. In fact pair of green eyes opened from bark slits in the tree trunk. Sylvanus himself stood at the top of the treant/ent (race of humanoid animated trees) right between its shoulder blades. He pointed his cane forwards causing the treant to begin moving towards the camp. Each step on the ground making a thunderous stomping sound while each movement the ent made produced a wooden creaking sound throughout its body while the leaves on its body rustled around. Unlike normal treants or ents however the being here moved much like a slow gorilla. It had massive gorilla arms it used to walk on with much smaller back legs.

As Sylvanus made his moves towards Bellona, the men in the forest felt the tremble under their feet, they looked around slightly panicked by the sounds before one of them shouted an earthquake or Volcanic eruption of the nearby Mt. Vesuvius. They ran around trying to dodge the danger and find shelter in nearby caves and hugging trees. The Legionnaires quickly ran to grab the bags filled with their food supplies and held onto it as they slowly laden them to the shelters around the forest and duck out the chaos, but they had no idea what was causing the earthquake to begin with.

Soon Sylvanus and his treant steed arrived at the camp revealing himself to be the source of the earth shaking force. He however was completely oblivious to the terror he struck into the men around him. Instead he closed his eyes and showed a beard filled smile while waving his hand in the air. "Well hello my fellow followers. Oh and deities. I can't' forget about he deities." Sylvanus said overly cheery.

Bellona's jaw hung open before she shook her head out finding a grip on the shock she was experiencing. "Oh right I forgot. Tree beard here has a massive uhhh?... Tree golem. Yeah." Bellona said impressed. It wasn't often she saw a monstrous beast such as the one Sylvanus rode on as made clear by her astonished expression.

Sylvanus let off a hearty chuckle and pat his treant on the head. "Oh. You mean my sent friend here. Well he has a name yah know." Sylvanus said as he tapped his cane on top of the ent's head. "Let me down now Grover. I can walk." Sylvanus said lightly. Of course Grover knelt down while letting off tired old groan. Sylvanus hopped to the ground and smiled. "So what can i do yah gents and ladies for today? I see a lot of red in my forest. Oh no wit those were soldiers! Was there a war without my knowledge?" Sylvanus asked showing his time spent sleeping without end. An entire war would go by and he'd be down still.

"Legionnaires! Regroup now!" The Centurion barked out orders and the troops inside the forest slowly came out of hiding and went back to the camp slowly. Some were lost in fairly far away sections of the forest and needed to link up with their comrades from surrounding areas first before moving back to the camp with the various maniples and eventually centuries, the troops would soon find their ways back into the camp and gathered up in front of their Centurion with hammocks hauling the supplies and fruits in hands. "Turn in your forages men, we'll be having breakfast at dawn!" the officer shouted and his men quickly carried the hammocks hauling food and supplies into the storage house to the West side of the camp where the mess hall of the men were found.

Sylvanus looked to the returning men, and rubbed his beard curious by their morning meal. Although he liked to them confused. "Oh. I guess I was rather late to the party then. Oh well. I've been decades late to many occasions, and this is no different." Sylvanus said.

Bellona however shook her head out. "No wait! You came just in time! Look. look at the men! They only brought back fruits, and vegetables, but no meat. They need valuable proteins to build their strength up. Build muscle you know?" Bellona asked. However, she didn't need to look at Sylvanus long to see he was completely devoid of muscle mass. Much to the job he worked he was as thin as a twig. "Oh... Okay well. You can still help us. Master of the forest we need your help to get our men ready for survival lessons! We just came mere inches away from starvation! Please with your help we can better train this apes to get bulked up, and ready for harsh outdoor work." Bellona begged.

Despite her begging Sylvanus made an easy going gesture to calm Bellona down by raising his hand and lowering it slowly. Hi kind elder smile never left his face, and he hugged his cane tightly. "Oh my. Just let ole Sylvanus take the steps to getting this army ready. I can lead deer, rabbits, squirrels even into the forest while producing some very ample survival issues. Perhaps rough terrain, frequent cuts from the thorns of plants. Perhaps some poison ivy, or… nah that a bit too much for them." Sylvanus said putting his hand in his beard to stroke downwards in thought.

However, Bellona shook her head out to his concerns. "No! That's perfect. It'll teach tme what to be aware of, and what pant does what. These guys don't even know what poison ivy looks like! Mybe. I wouldn't know, but do whatever to get these guys in some type of obstacle course… just no tree monster, or venus fly trap things." Bellona said with a cautious sigh.

[hr]

But while the Romans and their Graeco-Egyptian foes prepare for war, more ominous planning and machinations were occurring elsewhere. On the snow capped mountain peaks of the Hindu Kush, a meeting was assembled by deities. The attendants however were nowhere near neutral, let alone well meaning. From under the earth, rose Izanami and Ares who escaped their wanted orders in India, they two winded up by a hillside wadi over a water stream with a wooden bridge over the stream of water. "Ahh! Fresh air at last! Finally Ares we're here to meet with our benefactors and to plan our next steps." Said Izanami as she inhaled the fresh air of the mountains, Ares looked around noticing statues of Greek deities built along the way of the land, he recognized the place to be Baktria, the furthest of Alexander's Eastern Provinces. "Baktria? I've never thought I would be back here again. WHo is this benefactor? Will he give me better swords and weapons to kill Anubis?" Asked Ares with his signature gravelly voice as they climbed the hill to the small mudbrick home.

Izanami knocked on the door carefully a few knocks, it was in a rhythm of 3 knocks before a short break followed by an additional 3 knocks. The occupants of the house opened the door and let them in, revealing to the two to be Hel, Loki, Ymir, Arachne, Medusa who was still wearing her Porcelain mask, Hades, Bakasura and other rogue deities that have been waiting for an opportunity to do some damages to their nemesis for a long time. "What is this?! Uncle, what's happening here?" Ares asked sounding rather outraged by the sight of other loathful figures in the place.

"Sit down nephew, for I shall reveal the purpose of you coming here soon but I must warn you...some of the things you will hear may not be of your liking." Said Hades as he gestured Ares to sit down on the stool in front of the fire lit by Arachne. He reluctantly sat down next to Izanami and Hel sighed out waiting for someone to begin an exposition. "Now then, we are all gathered here for a purpose, our respective pantheons have grown...complacents by their indulges of prophecies, intervention into Mortal affairs for personal pleasures and the neglect of duties. We all have a nemesis within and without but I tell you, let us be patient and destroy the voices of complacencies first. I and Loki have already iced the first of them, Zeus." Said Hades as he glanced over to Loki but Ares himself now had his mouth dropped down feeling a cold bucket of ice poured on him.

The face Ares made caused Loki to laugh out loud in a hysterical laughter, and somewhat crazed and maddened. "That's right! It was me Ares! It was me all along Ares! Even my immediate family bought it… For a moment or so, but that's why we are here now!" Loki shouted maddened. He cleared his throat out, and jumped up to the table. "Yep. It was time that the old bastard went and died by now. He's nothing but a hollow husk of a guy with a long beard, and a family too damn long! But I have a reason… i didn't do this without cause. I mean I would, but I didn't have reason to make such a crazy crazy crazy act." Loki said madly. He giggled again and hugged himself feeling his laughter tickle his lungs. "You see hehehe we as the castaways, misfits, guys and gals who didn't fit in and were always underdogs and freaks needed a time to shine. So…. a little snake came in and told me about a good way so we could have fun for a while as leaders! TRY AND GUESS WHO!" Loki shouted suddenly bursting into shouting. He pointed to each deity in the room. "Can you guess? you ? How about you? Daughter of mine? Or how about you." he said finishing his point towards Ares. "You might be happy to know Anubis, your target, isn't loved by all in his pantheon!" Loki shouted.

Ares crossed his arms hearing Loki's tirades as he held his sword in hand, his anger was growing increasingly heated and he seemed like it was ready to swing his blade at Loki and take his head in an instant. "So...you killed my father and pranked me into hunting down Anubis for nothing!?" Ares bellowed out and stood straight up from his stool. Only to be held back down by Izanami's shadow holding him in place. "Calm down first Ares! You haven't heard the best parts yet!" She cackled out insanely to Ares as Hades himself added his own bits.

"Yes that's right. Zeus's death was necessary, as his hypocritical tendencies is a mocking to all of Olympus. I would kill him to bring order and eternal justice to Olympus myself!" Declared Hades as he slammed his bony hand on the floor. "Therefore, I reward you for your commitment with all the souls of mortals and wars to indulge in." Said Hades in an ominous tone as Ares melted his anger and frustration upon hearing the mentioning of war, the enticement that was like sweet chocolate to him. "So in another word, I'll get to enjoy wars without ending...Sounds fair enough for me. Zeus wasn't the father I loved anyway." Said Ares in an otherwise heartless, apathetic tone turning his head away from the flame in disgust. "Good nephew, now I should mention to you all...who our benefactor is, none other than the embodiment of darkness and chaos himself, Apep and the Ogdoad." Said Ares as he poured some powders into the flame, it puffed into a colorful dust that showcase the form of Apep slithering across the place with the serpent's head baring its teeth. Not only that, at its proverbial feet, were a trio of other Egyptian deities, a frog and two cobras. "Kek, Nu and Hehut. The Ogdoad, Primordial Gods who are disappointed even of their own pantheon's current incarnation and wish for its destruction. Therefore, we are given a more proper purpose." Said Hades as he sat down next to Loki.

"THAT'S RIIIIGTH! And wait! There's more!" Loki said madly like a hyperactive demented child. He watched the colorful and yet ghostly Apep move into the room around him, but it sent him over the edge with glee. He started giggling madly. "I planted a new seed! You guy know of my son right? The one from my loins that was supposed to consume everything!" Loki laughed feeling some ego enter his mind proud of his demonic creation. Hel however forward to this feeling left out, and yet she knew the individual he spoke of as more than a trophy child. However, Loki still cackled madly. "I got Hel here to give Sif- I mean Fenrir a message! He's going to get out and be all 'I am death destroyer of Asgard' and kill my pops and my gilded brother! There's your prophecy dad! Now we all die! Except me cause i got a plan!" Loki said leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up to the table in front of him. He raised a smug eyebrow to all to view his ego, and false cunning.

"And that plan is?" Ares asked in an amused tone as he watched if the trickster of the Norse Pantheon had a definitive answer to his question. The war deity of the Greeks expected the trickster to be without answers to his question while holding his massive sword and shield in hands. Hades however cleared his throat and glared at Ares reminding him to be respectful and quiet. "The plan will be revealed in details after we have achieved the proper...opportunities. First however, is the prison break for Fenrir. Hel has found the perfect tool for the job, the Monkey King's magical staff, once the beast that is Fenrir is freed. We will move to phase 3." Hearing this cause Ares to cough out in surprise hearing that they had advanced into the second step of their plan already instead of just getting started.

Their meeting was not as discreet and away from prying eyes however, as the group converse with one another, their plan's details were overheard by a pair of fluffy ears outside of the hut. Ratatoskr had followed Hel from the far reaches of the Norse's realm out to the freezing mountains of the Hindu Kush curled up in his winter white fur as he listened and wrote down as much major points as possible with diagrams on a paper showing the intricate relationship of Loki and his crew of rogue deities. He then rolled the paper into his pouch and ran back to Asgard via a portal he summoned. His thoughts were chaotic as he wondered whether or not should he deliver the news to Thor and Odin, will they listen to him? He wondered. But time and again, a no was quietly seeping into his mind. He had been a rascal slanderer for so long that no one would listen to him anymore. But a choice had to be made...


	6. Chapter 5: Hellas

The wait was long for the surviving Greek forces in the region of Ionia and Asia Minor's northern provinces were still rebuilding themselves from scratch with the Romans still occupying their homelands, in Halicarnassus, Anubis's Jackal Guards were honing their skills in the open area outside of town armed with improved steel blades and captured gladius alongside their own Xiphos, they practice maneuvers and tactics against theoretical Romans. But for their commanders the battle for Hellas had already begun with Anubis's initial opening phase has kickstarted. He was now at the harbor of the settlement with rolled up battle plans and scrolls in hand. He handed it to the German named Gunter the Geats while the ship that will ferry Gunter was being prepared. This ship did not sail with either Greek or Egyptian flags, instead it sailed with an empty white flag, an unassuming vessel for the VIP's own safety. "Alright then Gunter, this ship will take you into the Black Sea to the north of Pontus before taking a West into the Danube river. Once there you'll have to make your way up the Carpathian Mountains to the land of Dacia. Make contact with the King of Dacia and inform him that he must launch his revolt against the Romans." The deity instructed Gunter carefully and handed him the battle plans and scrolls of Roman war plans.

With the plan in hand Gunter didn't roll the scroll open to view what it said. Today he knew he was acting as a runner of messages for the Jackal Guards. He placed the scroll into a satchel on his right hip to carry without the risk of losing it. "This king sounds like he's already prepared to slip away from Roman grips. Possibly the grip around his neck, and constant pressure the bleeding Romans make for themselves." Gunters said as he looked to the front of the ship. He placed his hands behind his back, and looked to the horizon feeling his mission drawing neary to a beginning. "For you my patron friend this shall be done, and if you need my services after this don't hesitate to give me a whistle. There are still a lot of fight left in me." Gunter said in a determined and yet calm voice.

Anubis would then pat Gunter's shoulder to give him approval and assurance before handing him a passport of sort, it was a badge of Horus falcon spreading its wings and in the right talon, it held a wreath and the left held a rolled up a scroll showing words and diplomacy were the intentions of man holding this badge. "This should be your shield with words as your sword, use them wisely then Gunter." Anubis waved his hand to Gunter as he walked up the plank to the Greek style ship and watch as the ship began to set sail from the port out to the Aegean Sea before making its long voyage to the Black Sea. Anubis would then look back at Thoth and uttered to him. "Warriors fight with glamor while diplomats fight with wisdom." He uttered to Thoth's ear.

Thoth nodded his approval to Anubis and moved his right hand into the air. He wiggled each of his fingers as his signature type of wave as the ship took off into the city. "Indeed you are right Anubis. Built like a champion yet the mind of a scholar. Many soldiers in any ranks should learn those methods. Unfortunately words can only get you so far before someone of a more brutish nature takes a blade. Much like our Roman adversaries." Thoth lowers his hand to his back and looked down in thought. "Although, this is also their eventual downfall. Mistakes have been made in their combat form. Each of their men as i have inspected them look for lack of a better word out of shape and cocky." Thoth then raised his head up and gazed into the distant horizon to Rome. He pondered what could be the source of their armies decaying state. "Something has gone wrong with them. The Roman deities should have a greater control, but… That can't be so if their men look like the way they do…" Thoth finished humming in thought.

Anubis nodded to Thoth at the last bits feeling that there was something certainly not right about Rome itself and its citizens, "The other pantheons have great control and influences over their people, Rome however was the different case altogether, no kings or Emperor but save for Consuls elected by its people. The State is separated from the Pantheons so we face the State first and foremost before considering anything about their Pantheons." Said Anubis as he looked back at the Roman's flag and standards he had captured weeks ago. They had four Latin letters written on it, SPQR. The Senate People and Country of Rome when he translated and upon showing it to Thoth, it was clear that their enemies were the prototype for a new kind of state, one where mortals forge and build their State without deities directly holding offices. "They seem to take special care to autonomy of their mortal leaders so that they won't rely too much on deities." Said Anubis as he walked with Thoth back to the settlement where he saw Roman prisoners lumped into huddled masses of slaves and marched back into their separated quarters. "They call it a republic, theoretically their people, commoners and nobles vote their leaders every two years. But from the look of the officers and their behaviors, it seem that their nobles make the decisions for everyone else instead."

The theorized state of Rome and its government gave Thoth reason to raise a questionable brow to the way Rome ran government. "Hmm… I doubt that will lead to fair results." Thoth looked at each soldier, and judged each one by their life just be squinting to them. Entering each of their minds he saw memories from Rome, and could easily see that there was truely corruption in the ranks of government. "Of course. The political leaders take representation to the wealthiest of citizens just to get more wealth in their pockets. Of course you should realize by now that this will only create a larger gap between the rich and the poor in their cities. I can envision it. Wall and borders to keep out citizens of poorer class while the rich stay confined in walls to live their life in a utopian society." Thoth said in a less than pleased manner.

"Maybe we should one up how Rome should have been then." Said Anubis in a half joking tone as they went to the villa on the island to stay for the time being before the invasion kicked off.

[hr]

Back at Rome, the elites and nobles were going about their daily routines of collecting taxes, arranging marriages for their young daughters who were as young as 7 years old to much older grooms who maybe in their young adult years. The Julii, Scipii and Brutii were still at each other's throats at the Senate debating their military strategies and usages of their Roman legions and where to deploy. The Julii wanted a stronger and more fortified borders up North against the Norse, the Scipii wanted to strike further into the unknown of North Africa sands and slaves from the unknown kingdoms further in Brutii however were more interested in fighting the Illyrian rebels and eventually move into Dacia. In the end no strategies were achieved except for the passive fortification of Hellas and already own territories.

Crassus was at his villa in the countryside to enjoy his down time. He lounged on a Roman chair and enjoy the grapes and wine of Bacchus while his slaves were massaging his back and gave him shades in the sunny garden of his home. Outside of the villa were Carthaginian slaves working the land toiling their life away while the sun bake their backs. Bellona was paying him a visit at the moment as she stood next to the overly obese and out of shape senator who was known for the deeds of quelling slave rebellions in his youth. By hanging them on the Appian road. "Tell me something I don't know o' great Bellona. My eldest son is in the Army serving as a Legion General right now. Where shall I deploy him for his safety?" Said Crassus as he swoon and sighed out in the pleasure and comfort of his slaves massage. "If this father lost his son that would be a blow to this family." Said Crassus in an unusually sober and gloomy tone.

Much of the sight before Bellona seemed to disturb her to the point her face gave off a rather creeped out expression. She didn't enjoy the sight of Crassus's mostly naked and exposed body, or his obesity. Other than that the amount of slaves he had acquired and his ruthless methods gave her more silent contempt for the general as he lay there in wealth while his country was in shambles still. However, the statement he made fo his son gave her a reason to frown now. "Oh? Well what is your son to you Crassy? A loved one, and some one you raised personally, or just a way for you to get your army to be moved by you? And if you are so concerned with his safety then why did you put him in his current rank in a time like this? He's lucky to be trained by me and these-" She flexed her right arm showing off her muscle to Crassus showing what her men below her should take example of. "And the fact we have Sylvanus, who I might add isn't so bright in his age, to get the recruits shaped up. When they are done with survival training i think a bee sting should feel like a tickle to them, but that won't exactly keep them away from death now will it?" She asked in a cynical tone while crossing her arms. "Its war after all. YOu put your son in a more vulnerable position, and it's my duty now to lead them to the best of my own skill." she finished.

"It's not what you think." He retorted before standing up wrapping a towel around his pelvic area and put a wreath on his head and walked toward his Toga and shades. "You see, with generals in Rome wanting promotions for their own agendas on a daily basis, I would like to strike a balance so to speak. One where he can make his glory known on the battlefield but at the same time, safe from the danger of Rome's intrigues." He wrapped his togas on him and walked out of the shades towards the Goddess of War. "I didn't rise to this position today with some hard work on the farm or honest service, I paid assassins and wade through corpses to get here. I certainly don't want my son to suffer the same." Said Crassus as he sighed out and looked to the family shrine of patron Gods it also housed the dolls of his son and the daughter in law, the boy was apparently brown curly short hair with olive complex while the daughter in law was a brunette lady. "After all, he is the only one who has the right kind of wits in this house the others are too young to inherit their properties when I pass away to Pluto."

His words sent chills down both his and Bellona's spines as he looked outside, his villa sat on the Appian road with rows of dead slaves hung on the poles, each one were now dried skeletons with the flesh and organs picked out by the birds years ago. The new slaves were put under constant watchful eyes of the Town Watch and the crops of Crassus were so abundant he could easily feed Rome for months in case of a siege. If he was charitable enough. The younger children were seen playing in the fields nearby completely unaware of their father's political maneuverings and his various aggressive impulses in the Senate, only that at times in the house he can be rather aggressive when something didn't go according to plans. "There are two places for him to go if he was to be safe, either in Greece or in Thracia. I wouldn't send him to Dacia as he only took command of his Legion just the other day. Let him learn the tricks of his job first before send him to the dangerous battleground of Dacia." Said Crassus as he looked at the sight of his younger children, Marcus, Antonius, Augustus playing with their wooden swords in the field.

The sight of the children in the field gave Bellona a reason to show some more respect despite the state of her land. She even seemed to swoon at the children practicing combat to defend themselves. However, a lot of what Crassus said didn't convince her that his fate was in the hand of angels. It didn't help seeing the bodies of those who had resisted the influence of Rome. She seemed to have mixed emotions, but with Crassus's concern of his children, she seemed to be left in a state of mixed confused emotions. "Well then. I guess the noob can be sent to Greece for now. No reason to send your better built son to a meat grinder in Dacia. Yet anyways." Bellona said with a sigh. She continued looking at the traditions Rome had upheld for so long, and made a disgusted look to the thoughts swimming around in her head still. Each one made Crassus look more like some type of demon while his crucified enemies gave her only more confusion. "Ech… You may want to clean up the place a bit though. I don't think bodies are a good decoration. Unless you like vultures and ravens." Bellona as he turned away from the window. She looked back to Crassus and huffed. "Also cut down with the slave stuff, and start doing some maunal stuff. I think you could use some muscle mass man." She said casually.

Left with a perplexed face, Crassus himself was apparently crippled by the fact that he was being lectured on normal daily life affairs by a Goddess who, in his view, wouldn't bother herself with such trivial matters save for combat and warfare. He sighed out and sat down on a stool before speaking his defeat to her. "Maybe I should consider hiring some out of work peasants then, beats sending them into the army."

[hr]

Far from either the Romans or Graeco-Egyptian focus of naval conflict, Gunter the Geats was now moving through the Sea of Marmara that separated Thracia and the land of Asia Minor, his ship sailed through parts of the world that most of the Vikings of his tribes, let alone the Danes or Jutes have seen before. The beauty and magnificence of the Hellenic World was truly the land of Gods of almighty stature and strength that dwarf mortals. His journey took him far into the Black Sea and unexplored lands of Scythia-Pontus before taking a Western turn into the Danube river. There the ship entered a misty wooded realm that Gunter would find somewhat familiar to the fishing villages at home or the Hall of Asgard. The ship stopped at a small dock by the riverbanks where Gunter was escorted by the local entourage. He rode on a wagon they had up a small narrow footpath through a misty forest, the air was cold and the fog was so thick he can pierce it with his own knife. Once they had arrived at a village of Dacian, the village was rather large with wooden hooches and haystacks around the place. There was only a single road snaking its way through it with the villagers looking at him noticing that he was a stranger.

Gunter himself was taken into a large wooden hut with a long roof for the King of Dacia, there he was welcomed to sit by the fire of the place and the king offered him some wines to enjoy after a long journey. "Welcome worthy stranger, I am eager to hear the words of your master as your people are known to be honest folks." Said the king in a thick and gruff male voice, the rather porky and chunky warrior king sat on his throne with a sword resting by the side of his chair before the fire place of the house.

Gunter himself sat down and relaxed himself on his own chair, but just to show more of his peaceful intentions he laid down his own weapon to the side of his chair out of his own reach. He sat in a rather casual manner with one legged crossed on top of the other. He looked around his surrounding however feeling somewhat at home. "This is an oddly welcoming home king. It brings back memories of Germania. Sweet memories to me." He however shook his head out, and reach for the scroll in his satchel. "I however have business here. I was sent by divine means. A messenger even if you could believe it. Not one of the pantheon I originally supported. A patron of the dead." He pulled out the scroll he kept so safe in his satchel and chuckled. "Funny as it is. My life is in the hands to a jackal dity of the dead. Well I suppose there are stranger things, but it's quite ironic. I owe him though. This will not be my only task." He promised as he handed over the scroll.

The Dacian King picked up the scroll and removed its seal, his advisors and generals were present next to him as they opened the scrolls and maps revealing a Roman battle plan with detailed troop movements against their kingdom. From Illyria, the Romans intend to send two Legions into their land via the narrow mountain paths as a diversion. While then, from Thrace, and Macedonia more Legions will initiate their invasion of Dacia via a more open and evenly grounded areas. The King flabbergasted upon seeing the scrolls and maps with order of battles and he looked back and forth to his advisors for their opinions on the matter. "No doubt about it your majesty, this is authentic Roman battle maps. The order of battles matches that of the Romans when they were invading our neighbors." Said the general while the political and foreign relationship advisor looked back at the maps again seemingly perplexed by the level of authenticity of it. "My spies haven't seen the Romans bringing in any new Legions yet but I fear that the timetable they set here may suggest that they intend to bring new legions in soon." Said the Advisor. The Dacian King would turn to Gunter the Geats with the map still in hand. "What does your lord wish of me? A gracious warning like this is welcomed but there must be more reasons to it am I right?" He asked with his beard ruffle up and down.

Gunter then moved in closer, and looked down. It wasn't an easy request, but by now his loyalty and service as repayment to Anubis was ruling his mind. He looked back up and sighed to the king of Dacia with a somewhat confident and yet slightly slow and careful manner. "He only desires an ally to fight alongside his army sir. I would advise you take his hand as well. He does offer a duty, and vivid life after death… Which I have seen." Gunter rose himself up, and recalled the sight of Anubis's soldiers. Each one were a soul encased in armor. It was an awe inspiring and yet chilling sight. "This is an alliance I doubt anyone would wish to pass up. As for the Romans. Lets just say you have the upper hand, and time now to intercept them. Use your time wisely, and they shall fall." Gunter spoke.

The King nodded to Gunter and shook his hands welcoming him to stay in the Village for however long he saw fit, the first thing the king did was leading him out to a pigeon house where messages were delivered and received daily for special purposes of the State and Royal families. Once Gunter was settled in Dacia for the time being, the revolt against the Romans was going into overdrive in a steady pace.

[hr]

Far from the meat grinder and glory reaping mountains of Dacia, in the hilly and majestic Hellas, the Greeks were living under brutal occupations by the Romans their temples may stand and protected for the time being but the Romans were desecrating their cultures, stealing the names of their deities and the lores of their mythologies. The populace of city states went about their daily lives while having to suffer the constant sound of Roman sandals patrolling their streets. Above Athen, Apollo himself was flying his chariot over the city just above the clouds with Hermes in tow, the lyric loving elder of the two took his time to practice to his singing voice and verses before landing the chariot in a bush outside of town. Then out came Apollo dressed as an ordinary minstrel with a lyre in hand walking with Hermes into the city. "Now remember brother by sun down we shall at this spot again. For now let us enjoy a stroll among the commoners." Apollo pluck a string of his lyre and sung a long verse, making Hermes doubt his own brother's musical talent.

The notes Apollo played made Hermes plug his own ears with his fingers, and cringe a bit at the sounds of foul notes being strum. He squinted his eyes opened and looked at his brother with a more annoyed expression on his face. "Jeez bro i think you may need to tone your voice or something. I think the string in your voice box are messed up or something man. Jeez. That or I need to take you lyre to be fixed!" Mercury sad grumbling while he himself made way for the recon needing to be done. Although, Mercury rather than going about in a casual manner made an in-place jogging dash while keeping his puke while zipping from push to bush in quick dashes almost impossible to keep track of if one blunk for just a moment.

As Hermes/Mercury zipped from one place to another, he would see that the temple of Athena patron Goddess of Athen was being refurbished by the Roman Legionnaires into the Temple of Minerva and the Parthenon was left untouched thankfully. However the moment he zapped around to an academy to take a shortcut he found that the students there were congregating in the yard to have their Greek Debate about the Roman occupation, one of them, a blond headed girl holding a collection of scrolls in her hands while wearing a pink dress panted out distraught by something. "Like OMG, these Romans are like so brutal and terrifying, they took Adonis into the city prison along with Mr. Herodotus, Parentheses and a bunch of our teachers are like in prison to be transported to Rome as slaves I heard." Said the teenager while the other friends of her gasped in shock and outrage by the Roman's arrest of the city's intellectuals. "And OMG I heard that Mr. Daedalus is in jail too with Icky Icarus. Cassandra like told us everything but we didn't listen." The crowds continue their debate unaware of Hermes spying on them behind a pillar. But the quickster deity can tell that the adolescents were rather divided on their consensus on what to do.

Hermes pulled out a pen from a pocket he had in his garments, and tooks some messenger notes on what he saw. However, his writing was nowhere near as fast as Thoth's despite also looking like a high speed blur. He raised his eyebrows surprised by how fast events turned for the worst in Greece, and smiled for some reason. "Oh boy. Aphrodite is going to hammer some of these Romans like nails when she sees this." Hermes said as he looked back up at the new Roman educational process. "Don't mess around with her wisdom Roman boys. You might just find to get on her… eugh… bad side. I can't believe this, and I'm seeing it! Where did they get all shipped out to? Who going to each these kiddos some good knowledge? And furthermore who's keeping the cafeteria stocked up?" Mercury asked himself as he looked down to his notepad. He seems to have taken the right notes on what he saw, but drew doodles and drawings of angry stick figures with Roman centurion outfits. He let off a sly giggle to himself, and sped off to higher ground to get some more recon info.

While Hermes himself was doing recon around the Prometheus Academy and the surrounding areas like the Agora and Olive plantation of the city, Apollo was strolling around the military barracks of the city he saw that the Romans there were utilizing the military infrastructure of the city to hold onto their gains with Ballistes mounted on walls and legionnaires patrolling on the ground while their auxiliary archers were seen on the walls walking around to defend the place from intruders. Apollo then pluck the strings of his lyre and began singing to the pedestrians walking around the place, when Roman legionnaires were coming to around the corner of where he was, they stopped for a break and listen to the minstrel. "This one couldn't even compose a single verse right. How is he still holding the lyre?" One legionnaire mocked Apollo while the other giggled gleefully but soon, they began to feel odd.

Their minds become blank as they drift from a focus group of warriors into a state of perpetual hypnosis as their eyes swirled into vortex and their voices dropped to a monotonous tone. "Now mortals hand me all of your information and how many legionnaires in this town." Sung Apollo as he pluck his lyre in a melodious rhythm causing them to happily hand him various maps and military informations written on a piece of paper. "And I'm Apollo, do not forget my name, do not forget my songs! Invaders from Rome." He plucked his last note and walked away huffing out at the Romans weak minded characteristic while the legionnaires slowly recover from their short mental lapse. It was growing late as the sun began to set in the West Apollo went out to the outskirt of Athen where he met Hermes as they had planned earlier. "Well Brother, I have found this!" Said Apollo as he proudly showed off a map of Roman order of battles and defensive strategies around the city of Athens. "What do you have? Any piece of information would surely be of use by now." Said Apollo as he stroke his brunette hair and admire himself in the mirror.

Hermes nodded quickly and showed Apollo his notepad. Although most of the notepad seemed to be filled with drawing and rough sketches of crude stick figures all dressed in red colored Roman armor. A lot of what he wrote was covered by the drawings, but he managed to draw a lot of the students arguing and discussing Roman occupation with speech bubbles to draw out their helplessness. On multiple pages he managed to draw out these pictures, but on the last page he draw out a muscular drawing of Athena with red eyes using one of the legionaries as a bat to clobber and bludgeon other legionnaires with. He chuckled knowing a lot of the detail was to make Athena look monstrous and have snarling exposed teeth and have steam pouring out of her nose. "Well as you can see by my artistic drawing, I don't think 'sis is going to be too happy the educators were just all shipped off to be working to graveyard shift. Those kids look like they are living the life though." Mercury said presenting his artful taste.

"What!? The city's intellectuals are in prison!? We must free them immediately tonight!" Apollo boasted while still flabbergasted by the revelation. "But first we need a plan to bust into the city's prison, how do we bust them out and what do we do to them after we get them out." Apollo paced back and forth continuously while trying to think of a proper plan, the census was cleared break into prison and free the detainees but the logistic for their plan was virtually nonexistent and worse still, they had no clue what they would do to the freed prisoners. Whether to take them back to Pergamon or leave them at a safe place. "Well any ideas quickster? You're always the quick witted thief of the family." Said Apollo.

Mercury crossed one arm over his chest, and place the hand from his other arm onto his chin. He tapped his foot into deep thought and chuckled at each one. "Well we can bribe some of the strongest in our pantheon to bust down the prison wall and make a prison break!" Mercury laughed in a more mischievous way. "Maybe I can break in, and use my quickness to steal the keys and get those poor folks free. I can do it! I can run around there nine times before they even realize the keys of the whole thing are missing!" Mercury boosted confidently. He did a standing jog again and ran around Apollo before stopping in front of hi,. "Yah see what I mean? For their sake let's hope they can get to Pergamon first." Mercury finished.

"But the question is HOWWWWWW?" Apollo burst into song at his brother as he looked over to the docks, the place was now being used by the Roman navies, ships docking and leaving constantly and the place was heavily guarded making escape by sea difficult. Going by land would be too long, by air was perhaps feasible but for how long can they fly? Questions flourish through the head of Apollo as he stroll back forth, his footsteps emit musical sounds and rhythm. Until suddenly, he stopped midway and snapped his fingers when he had an idea in mind. "Instead of flying them out which we don't have the means for long travel. We'll lead them into the safety of the forest where Artemis can protect them!" He exclaimed while pounding his left fist into his right palm. It made Hermes/Mercury questioned the logic of the plan itself, why would they leave the mortals in hostile territories? "I mean, think about it, we could have them as the eyes around here to give Athena and Anubis accurate information on the Roman forces here. The bulk of their army is in Sparta and this is their logistic platform, so having some constant eyes on them would certainly help." Said Apollo as he tossed his lyre up in the air before catching it and spun it with a single finger.

Mercury tapped his finger on his chin, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah I doubt Dr. Jackal takes his eyes off of anything at all. Ever in fact. Have you seen his eyes? I mean he doesn't look like a guy to sleep unless that gaze of his is natural. Phew someone needs to give him some complexion medicine or something." Mercury said spouting on in a roast about Anubis. He chuckled at his own jokes before realizing he was side tracking the conversation. "Oh wait. That's right our prisoners. I know Artemis can basically pluck anything with his bow. Even a dragon out of the sky, or the smallest and fastest bird. Maybe even an unladen swallow." Mercury said in another giggle. "Although Athena will definitely watch over them… and then march over here with a hell army to stomp on some of the Romans. I'll bring some popcorn and you get some drinks for that show."

"Alrighty then let's go!" Hermes would then follow Apollo to the city prison once night has fallen. There, the concrete and stone structure had rows of barred windows with three levels to hold various prisoners inside it. Roman guards were seen patrolling the place but there weren't heavily armed Legionnaires but rather auxiliaries conscripted from various parts of the outlying territories of the empire. Apollo himself was quick to move into the prison by a wall climb with Hermes, the two would sneak into the prison's second floor where the intellectuals were being held along with other high class nobles. "As Adonis, Prince of Thrace, I promise you a hefty bounty if you release me. PLEASE RELEASE ME! I'm too young and rich to die!" Cried one of the prisoner, a blond hair fairly masculine figure as he bemoaned the imprisonment he was enduring, the cell opposite to him was occupied by a wildly eyed teenager with rather tanned skin complex, he has plucky hair style as it seem he had been burned by the sun.

The teenager however was none other than the creator of wax wings. His wild eyes looked to Adonis and laughed while he seemed to be working on new wax wings. "Oh come on now Adonis. It's not that bad here! It's nice, spacious, free food… Sometimes. I think I can maybe let this go on for another… Two minutes before I get bored for real." said Icarus. He seemed to have heterochromia as his right eye had a red colored iris compared to a left eye with a smaller pupil and darker coloration. After about two minutes he finished a new pair of wings to fly about with. "Welp see ya guys! I'm off to freedom! This time the sun won't scathe me!" He shouted as he flapped his wings. Soon the air took him off of the ground and he was sailing. However, it seemed the same trick didn't work twice. Instead of sailing out of the cell he crashed into metal bars which stopped his progression outside completely. He fell to the ground below with a loud thud which only caused Mercury to burst out with laughter.

"Oh I know that guy! He got too close to the sun once and landed on his head. And now he's got an eye problem. Jeez kid i think you might need to see an eye-doctor for that man. Thankfully I know bird and these got the best eyes in the world. Just if you can take the smart words he uses a lot." Mercury said referencing Thoth's wisdom. He looked around the second floor and noticed just how high class some of the prisoners were. "Jeez. Rome got no chill on who they imprison here I mean look at these guys. I bet they have gold tooth filling made from real gold!" Mercury exclaimed.

"Hey! Shut up in there will you!?" Shouted a lone guard nearby as she sneezed, a cold may have gotten to him as he sneezed and walk around flailing from wall to wall. One of the cell he sneezed into belonged to a teenaged woman dressed in dark purple dress who huffed at the Axuiliary's flailing. "Don't get me wrong prison awful and all. But not having to share a cell with Icarus is heaven to me." Said the woman in a sarcastic tone, Icarus would know her as Cassandra, the oracle of the Academy whose gifted talent was giving ominous foreshadowing of future disasters but no one ever listened to her. "Wait I have a vision, a terrible vision...again." Said Cassandra as her eyes swirled into a green vortex as she gave out her prediction. "I see...I see...a terrible bloodbath in a forest far away from here and Odin the Allfather slain in battle!" Said Cassandra as she held her cheeks in terror and gasping. "Uh...yeah lady like whatever, if Odin dies then less Barbarians for the Legionnaires to kill so they can retire and get some farming done." Said the Guards as he sneezed again while walking past Icarus's cell. "I certainly glad that I didn't see how your retirement play out." Said Cassandra as Apollo snapped the guard from behind and knocked him unconscious, on his belt was the key to break out the prisoners. Apollo handed it to Hermes and gestured him to break them all out in one go.

Mercury laughed to himself, and showed his speed off in a demonstration. He got his notebook out and held it above his head. He then dropped it, and proceeded to bolt past each of the cells in the room, unlocking each one with each key made for each specific cell. As he made his way past each door, a metal clank was heard when each door was unlocked. His speed was so quick however it sounded like a pistol going off in a rapid manner. Before the notebook hit the ground Mercury grabbed it mid air and made a sly smirk to Apollo for his work. Each of the cells were now wide open for each prisoner to escape. "Now I wanna see your fancy schmancy lyre do that!" Mercury challenged.

"Hmph!" Apollo huffed out not impressed by it while crossing his arms and holding his lyre close to him like a darling he wouldn't let go no matter what. When the prisoners were freed from their cells Adonis was the first to grovel at Hermes's feet and kissed the sandals of the deity. "Oh thank you Hermes! For you have saved my mortal coil from this imprisonment!" However the gratitude ended right away as Adonis got up to his feet and flexed his muscles and show off his teeth to everyone else. "At last, Adonis has single handedly escaped the imprisonment of the Romans and shall return to Thrace soon to take the throne!" He boastfully proclaimed earning not only the sarcastic snark of Cassandra but also the ire of additional Roman guards running upstairs. "Has it ever occured to you that your throne means nothing...if you are dead?!" Daedalus roared out at the prince's obnoxious attitude. Seeing the lines of Roman guards running up to them compel Apollo to struck his lyre's chord, the note he struck was so beautiful that it hurts the Romans, sending them flying back in the air clearing the escape route. "Come on Mortals! We must leave so my concert won't be delayed!" Apollo proclaimed as he led them out of the prison.

However, as Apollo led each of them out of the prison along with Mercury, Icarus ran over to Cassandra to give her a tight hug. "Wait! My wings still work. I can fly you personally out of here my sweet! That is if i can figure out where you guys are going. I swear i won't fly too close to the sun this time…" Icarus pleaded. Mercury looked back and chuckled. "Yeah but the moon is right there so you might turn into a werewolf! Or a werejackal if those exist. I think one does, but it's his feathered friend that does the moon stuff. A wereibis that's what he is!" Mercury exclaimed.

"Umm...eww Icky, stay back. You can't fly us far enough and my instant future prediction says we'll drown in the ocean." Said Cassandra as she pushed Icarus away from her side while running with Apollo and Daedalus dragging his son with him out to the stable of the prison where they began to provision the horses with Apollo's help. "Alright then let's head into the forest, I'm sure Artemis would still be there fighting off the Romans there." Said Apollo as he spurred the horse of Daedalus and Cassandra while Adonis himself lagging behind them by ten paces. "Well that's a miracle, I get to be paired with the sunburned guy. Aphrodite helps me." Said Cassandra as she rode off in disgust seeing that Icarus was sitting on the same horse as her with his hands holding her and him inching ever closer to her give off the sight of an uncomfortable friendship.

As they ride off to the safety of the forest Icarus wrapped his arms around Cassandra's hips while he himself pressed the side of his love struck face to her back. He had a gleaming smile that went ear to ear that seemed to show his love to the world. He had a dopey looking smile, and each time Mercury looked at him he swore he could see hearts in Icarus's eyes. "Oh I don't think you need to worry about Aphrodite. I think she has you guys covered." Mercury said with a wink and a thumbs up. Mercury looked down to his horse and sighed. "You know I can run faster than any horse right? Well except a pegasus. I can try though!" Mercury boasted.

As they rode out to the forest with waves of angry Legionnaires following them closely, Apollo was riding his chariots above their heads looking down at the pursuing enemies, he quickly fired off some energized music notes at the enemies and knock some of them back away, staggering by the notes, the Romans fell back on each other causing the pursuit to break down and the legions to stop their pursuits while the escaped intellectuals ran off into the forest. "I see that they aren't pursuing us anymore. Brilliant escape!" Apollo struck his high note again and rejoice the victory as they head down south into the land of Lakodemia. Home of Sparta and infamous Ares. In the forest, their horses had to slow down to a walk as they went inside the thick foliage to hide. "Oh great I think Nyx forgot to bring her candles...again." Said Cassandra in a sarcastic tone as she rode her horse around the place. "Keep calm now everyone we should keep our heads down." Said Daedalus while Herodotus continued his musing on the history and achievements of Sparta during the Graeco-Persian War. But as they stroll forward a bit more, something suddenly caught Icarus's wings and lifted him off of Cassandra's back without her knowing. "Odd I think I just got lighten up, something's not right." Said Cassandra while Icarus was wrapped up inside the vines of the forest.

Icarus yelped out, and made a scared look on his face. He reached his arms out to Cassandra and whimpered a bit being separated. "Ach! I think my wings got entangled in these vines! Someone help!" Icarus yelled. However, he saw the vines were doing more than just sangging his fragile wing. In fact they seemed to actually moving around on their own as if they were completely sentient. "Oh no wait. I made a mistake. They are actually wrapping around me. That's good." he then gave off a scared shriek finding the plants to somehow have figured out to love. "How does this work! I think I'm about to be plant food! Not a way to go!" Icarus shouted.

As he shrieked and shouted, he felt a gloved finger pushing up against his lips, he felt that a strong woman's grip pushing against his lips shushing him in the process. And out of the nearby bushes came Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt in her green outfit with brunette hair, her freed hand was holding her bow with arrow quiver on her back. "Shush young mortal. Otherwise you may draw roaming patrols into our safe area." Said the Goddess in a soft and cautious tone as the vines slowly unwrapped themselves of him and let Icarus go. "Well well Artemis, so glad to see you again dear sister, you seem to have kept your traps well placed after all these years." Said Apollo as he hugged his twin sister in the forest and patted her back. "I have, it seems and you also have a problem with freeing these mortals and an oracle in training out of their imprisonment, follow me." Said the huntress as she led them through the forest to a military encampment with a bonfire in the middle of the camp. The place was an encampment of the Spartans, few in numbers but ever powerful in their martial prowess. In the middle of the camp Icarus and Hermes would see a tent for a pair of God's playing what appeared to be a game of chess and the two were apparently fixated on the their little game. Hermes and Apollo would recognize the two as their nephews Phobos and Deimos, the sons of Ares.

Mercury waved to the two brother's despite the current issue going on with Ares. Although, he did make a an awkwards smile, and light laugh at the tow. "Ohhh boy. Hey kiddos. Heh heh. You two look like you're enjoying your game there…" Mercury sad as he leaned to Apollo. "Ohhh boy. This is awkwards. I haven't seen these two in a while and Ares is being a dunce right now. You don't think they're mad do yah? Do yah?!" Mercury asked in a nervous way to Apollo.

"Hey Uncle Hermes, 'sup? We haven't heard from dad for like weeks now. He said we're supposed to watch his Dogs of War but we haven't seen him since." Said Fear as he picked up his question paper from the table and began to read the question for his brother. "Okay in category Geography. Why sea ferrying is a popular form of travel in Greece?" His brother Terror or Deimos scratched his head finding it hard to answer and shrugged. "I don't know it-" Fear quickly cuts in shushing at his brother before handing a mask to him. "Ah ah ah. With the mask of tragedy." He handed Terror the porcelain mask of tragedy, the larger and bulkier brother put it on his face and utter the name of their game. "It is all Greek to me." He uttered.

The game the two played together caused Hermes to chuckle slightly by the oddity he was seeing. Both of his nephews were well built, and muscular as he could see, but he his his smile seeing the two of them playing a board game. "Jeez no wonder why you two are here. You must be BOARD out of your minds. Well. Uh your dad is kinda messing around." Hermes said with a nervous gulp. He recalled past memories and shuddered by his brother's anger issues. "Uhh well he's kinda like a runaway right now since he's in trouble big trouble. Huge trouble! Your auntie Athena is going to have a field day soon! He's basically a Renegade now!" Mercury exclaimed.

"Last we heard of dad was that he went off the rail crazy and went to Egypt to arrest some guy. Ani...Anu...Anne something. His name is all Greek to me." Said Fear as he scratched his head before his brother rolled the dice again and made his move, pushing the piece he had two squares forward. "Okay in the category History Mystery, what was the Spartan's war plan for the battle of Thermopylae? Ooh this is tough question." Said Terror as his brother struggle to find his accurate answer. "Hmmmm I think it has something to do with the terrain there. But I have no clues." Said Fear as his admission was a complete failure and admittance of less than favorable intellectual prowess the two so called Mighty Sons of Ares really were capable of. "Well to put it short dad went off the rail crazy after Grandpa Zeus kicked the bucket and then the Romans invaded us and Sparta got overrun and whatever that's left of the Spartan army regrouped here for the next round but we haven't' made much progress." Said Fear in a bored and droning voice to his uncle.

His words proven to be true however as Hermes and Apollo looked around and saw that the camp were mostly filled with Spartan Hoplites, each one sporting a red colored cape and their bronze Corinth helmet with Hoplon shield red in color with a white Lamda letter printed on it. The Spartan hoplites huddled together sharing wines and meals while showing little signs of being shaken by the disturbing turn of events that they had recently seen. They instead trade talks in their signature Laconic speeches, short and terse replies flew back and forth at each other with one liners showing them Spartan economic treatment of word but the expensive extravagant of their meaning rung like music to the ears of outsiders, and steely blades to their enemies flesh.

Hermes took the sight of the Spartans in the camp as a slight horror to himself. Normally he knew each of the Spartans to be vicious and near undefeated in combat, but seeing them now in groups huddled together like scared brothers gave Hermes a frightful ponder as to what the Roman army was capable. "Well uh… First off the jackal guy is called uhhhh…. Crap." Hermes leaned to Apollo again. "I forgot Anubis's name dude. I can't figure it out I'm serious!" Mercury said as he looked through his notepad.

"Are you telling me that the Egyptians are on their way here as well? Words travel fast among the Romans about their defeats in Asia Minors." Said Artemis as she set her bow down on the ground and sat down next to Hermes. "I believe I've forgotten his real name as well since the Egyptian words and names are so decadent and hard to pronounce. Good thing we have given them our Greek names." Said Apollo as he check the chords of his lyre. The trio of deities sat down by the fire with each other enjoying the flame and warmth it provided to them as the evening went by. It was a peaceful moment, a calm before the storm come to their homeland and liberation follow. "To put things into perspective and short, the Egyptians are coming this way to rescue us, Anubis is tasked with leading the invasion and we're here to supply information to him. Hermes will be runner around while I deliver the news by my Chariot." Said Apollo in a proud manner to Artemis. His twin sister chuckle upon hearing the news. "I'm glad that they sent a grave hound here. His digging skill will be needed to level the Roman walls since the Latin invaders love building walls so much." Said Artemis as she polish her arrows and quiver. "Let's hope his bites are worse than his barks." She said half jokingly while looking at the fire. The feeling of progress was building up for them as the liberation of Hellas inched closer day by day but much remained to be seen as the battle plans will be decided when two armies made contact with each other.


	7. Chapter 6: Plague

The day has come for Rome, Saturnalia on December 17th, the city bursted into celebration as carnivals and gladiator games were held in the Coliseum to celebrate an important solstice holiday for them. The slaves too were celebrating like no tomorrow, as this was the day they were considered to be freemen, a very rare occasion in the year, to them, this was heaven to the hell that was their daily life. But as the Plebs celebrate their rare moment of joy and gift givings, the Senate was still busy discussing war time matters with Bellona and Vulcan.

Inside the almighty Forum of Rome, the Senators debated with each other on matters like troops numbers, supplies, logistics and campaign priorities. The Julii senators roared out to his colleagues as he gestured his hand into the air pointing at the map of Magnus Germania. "We must destroy the Barbarians to the North! If we relent for our conquest of Asia Minor, then we will see their brutish hordes overrunning the colonies and Roman Settlements along the Rhine!"

Another senator of the Brutii objected as he stood up to the Julii, his face was red with boiling rage and anger as he pointed his finger to the map of the Western Mediterranean sea, namely the area of Carthage, a conquered city with several legions stationed around it to defend the province of Africa.

"You must be deluded! The Barbaris Norse and their dragon ship riders are conquered! Vanquished! You Juliis stated that earlier in the year that you have conquered the last Norse settlement along the West of the Rhine!" Said the Brutii senator as he was about to foam on his mouth. But the rage of the Brutii was still second to none as Crassus rose up from his seat in the Senate and shouted out.

"Silent! Neither Carthage nor Germania is our concern. The Greeks are not yet defeated and the Egyptians are probing at our navy in the region everyday for the past months, they are planning an invasion of Hellas!" Crassus declared, causing the Senate to have an uproar of debate with each other. Some of them even started to spat at one another and their behaviours becomes ever more rowdy and even Barbaric as they vied for dominant in the political discord.

However, as they squabble, a shadow of someone was casted into the senate's floor, and in came an Egyptian woman, a goddess, wearing a long tan silk dress with a golden crown of a cobra on her head and two feathery arms. She was clearly Isis, the Goddess of Magic and Motherhood.

"A woman! In the Senate!? How dare you!?" Crassus shouted out to Isis, completely oblivious to the fact that the senate has Bellona as their important deity over Rome. The other colleagues groaned and some even made a face palm seeing the level of self absorbed Crassus had reached by this point. Surely enough, Bellona, who was in the senate as well would find embarrassment and offense from the deluded Brutii senator.

As the entire Roman board of senate gave their complaints it seemed Isis had a special viewer from the crowd of men. Bellona watched Isis walk into the Roman elites conference room shocked a woman had even made it this far past the security there. Bellona hearing the negative sounds coming from each of the council members raised her hand to eac of them and shused them with a gust of hot war winds. "Ah shut up all of yah! I'll handle this…" Bellona herself said as she casually walked over to Isis. Of course isis got a view of Bellona's sword behind her back. Bellona snapped her finger to point at isis and smirked. "First thing' first how'd yah get past the security? They wouldn't let a lady even look at this place." Bellona asked.

"Can they stop a bird?" She asked back sounding rather cock sure and combative even as she snapped her fingers, her form changed to that of a bird with a realistic human head of Isis. The senators saw this and were completely shocked to see her magic, some of them flabbergasted and fell off their seats into one another as the Roman sentries outside ran into the Senate's floor to see what was happening.

They gasped and some of them dropped their Gladius and scutum shields when they saw Isis flapping her wings in the air looking down at them before releasing a shiny magic orb at the sentries, throwing them flying out of the floor before landing on the ground and morphed back into her humanoid form. "Build your walls. So you can weep on it." She stated to the Romans, challenging them all with her utterance and savvy nature.

"How dare you!? You barbarians think you can just walk into the Senate and challenge Roman Civilizations like this? Egyptians like you are nothing more than bizarre, primitive, self-centered sand dwellers!" Crassus barked out at Isis, his face was fuming red with rage as he jumped up and down on the senate floor lashing his anger out at her as if to make his fragile ego look tough.

Hearing the sound of Crassus's man child minding Bellona herself didn't even need to look behind herself to know that right now Crassus was turning a red color. She didn't watch Isis's magic attacks either. Frankly she knew all there was to a deity's special powers. And it was the same woer to make Bellona somewhat happier to see someone she could relate to her. As she turned around she saw that Vulcan was absorbed in his metal works. She looked up to Isis and sighed. "Yeah sorry about him. He wanted to be born as a god, but all we could give him was a man child form. My bad. Just hold back a bit." Bellona aida s she sneered up at Crassus. "Bro come on she's probably mad her son is going after our boys right now!" Bellona shouted. What was surprising however was her own knowledge to the events of other pantheons.

"Regardless of fortresses, Rome can never cower behind the valor of Kemet's warriors. But my fury is only miniscule compared to this good man." Said Isis as she stepped aside letting an emissary coming into the Senate's floor, he was a rather beardy man with tanned skin, a Moor as they could tell. He wore a grey and tan burka headdress commonly seen in the desert lands of Africa or the Near East.

"Roman vices, Roman aggression, Roman Hypocrisy, Roman Civilization, Roman Imperialism. All walk in the same sandals! By the flame of Baal-Hammon, Carthage will burn your legions and your cities to the ground, your women and children be fed to the holy flame! This Carthage vow to uphold, till the day the Senate's floor of Rome is bathed in blood!" The Carthaginian emissary boasted his fiery rhetorics to the Romans, letting them and Bellona know that no one will negotiate with Rome or let Rome sue for peace, they will fight until Rome is nothing but ashes and the Senate is burned to the ground.

"Spend your holidays well, it might be the very last that you can enjoy." Said Isis as she nonchalantly walked out of the Senate with the Carthaginian emissary following her, in the wake of their footsteps, Bellona can see they left a burned leaf on the floor, like a metaphor for the fate of Rome that Crassus had brought upon them. "This is outrageous! Those elephant riding mercenary hiring barbarians couldn't even fight us on their backyards so what makes them think they can fight us here in Rome?" Crassus blurted out while the rest of the Senate were having their difficult moment thinking about the war progress so far.

Each of the Roman senate heard a loud echoing clicking sound gather their attentions as the sound reached their ears. It was bellona again after she had snapped her finger to have each of them look at her. With her finger she tapped the side of her head while rolling her eyes once. "You know guys I can feel how a war is going before i can even see the battles. I think it's safe to say the Egyptians found some loophole in war." Bellona said. Her irises glow a fiery orange color before fading back otu. She shuddered a bit feeling the heat of battle, or rather sensing it without being near by. "Oh yeah they have something new with them now." she spoke.

The Senate shuddered in fear hearing that they had truly sunk into the deepest pit of their depraved desires. Their crazed for power and lust for more influences in Rome had led them to a rock and a hard place as the war expand Roman borders further and further, attracting more and more combatants against the Romans. "Great Battle Maiden, may I lend my insights!" Said one of the young Julii members of the Senate as he stepped down from his seat, he was apparently still dress in Legatus armor, seemingly back from the frontline against Barbarians.

"Maiden of Legionnaires, in times like this, I believe it would be best that we prepare ourselves for an imminent invasion of Hellas, where they shall land I do not know. But it is absolutely certain that their intend is to evict us from our holdings in Graeca." The Legatus stated, he was a rather young general with a distinguished brown curled hairstyle with a thick mustache and beard on his chin along with some scars on his eyes.

"I shall move my legion to defend our holdings in Hellas, they will ensure that we may have a position in negotiation if the opportunity arrives." Said the Legatus as he glared back at Crassus intensely, the out of shape and raspy voiced senator growled back while hiding behind Bellona. "Keep your Legions to the North Legatus! You Julii are to defend us from those drunken blowhards Norse! My son can handle his own in Graeca!" Crassus shouted out to the Julii Legatus as he gripped Bellona's cape harder with his hands.

As her cape was gripped Bellona gasped loudly feeling the grip on it tighten. She groaned a bit and stepped back to Crassus seemingly losing any of her own real will. Submissive even. The youthful Julii though received an odd look at her. Not an angered glared or anything aggressive, but rather a depressed look from Bellona's normally battle ready face. Was it defeat? She looked back to Crassus and sighed. "Okay Crassy could you at least pay some more attention to the south? I can feel where the damn German tribes are, and I don't feel any rise of anger stuff. No. They are normal levels of pissy... So i really recommend looking to the south while i can feel what happening down there." Bellona argued.

Crassus slowly let go of her cape reeling from his defeat in the Senate's argument as he slumped over to the Senate's floor, completely shattered and shaken like a hollow barrel. "Send...the legions to Carthage...squash anyone resisting." He uttered incoherently, barely making a concise military order to anyone. The youthful Julii Legatus of course sighed out seemingly unimpressed by the elderly demented senator of Rome.

"I fear bloodshed will soon follow, not with Barbarians. But the die shall be casted." He said cryptically before walking away from the Senate to gather his legion for a march. It was not usual for the Army to move their legions out during celebrations but in time of War, time must not be wasted while Janus's temple still opened its doors.

[hr]

Summer the next year

The time has come for liberation of Hellas, the fleet has sailed, moving Westwards from the Anatolia towards mainland Hellas, for more than a week since their set sail, the Greek Navies and Egyptian Navies have been keeping themselves away from Roman patrols to maintain the element of surprise, Anubis was on his flagship observing the changing ocean tide as his fleet sailed through the Aegean Sea.

He paced back and forth on his ship's deck expecting to hear from Horus soon, dressed in his Cuirass and ornate armor with his Xiphos sword sheathed on his left hip. He soon saw Horus flying in the air landing on the ship's deck in front of him and Thoth. "Good news dear brother, we are virtually undetected, the Romans have withdrawn their navies for repair and we are in free control of the sea. Landing in Sparta should be an easy walk in the park." Said Horus as he confidently planted his hands on his hips showing his cockiness.

Thoth himself looked up to Horus and made a short almost unnoticeable sigh of relief. Thinking about it the defensive way set up by Roman legionnaires was a frightful thought it even fathom just for Thoth himself to think about. He looked outwards at the massive expanse of the blue sea and squinted his eyes looking at the tip of the horizon. "Well that would save us a decent amount of time to use the element of surprise to our advantages." Thoth said.

"Indeed, but let's not lose our heads to excitement. We still need to focus on landing our forces first." Said Anubis as he observed the horizon with his periscope. He noticed that the landing area up ahead was rather barren and small. There was little in the way of habitation, as Sparta was known for its ruthless Agoge training regime and the harsh landscape maybe an example of it.

"No signs of hostiles, land there!" Anubis ordered to his captain as the fleet of the Jackal Guards too a turn at the direction of the nearby beach. They paddled closer and closer to the beach with the amount of strokes increased to keep up with the invasion force. Once they have arrived, the Jackal Guards, both souls of the undead and living disembarked the vessels one after another and ran ashore to form a beachhead. "No signs of Legionnaires yet, but I have my doubt that they would leave Hellas undefended. The uprising we instigated in Dacia was useful, but the ruse can only last so long." Said Anubis as he led Ramiel off the ship and mounted on the horse's back with his Sarissa lance in his right hand.

Anhur and Sekhmet were seen leading the contingents of his army to form up at the front of the Strategos. Sekhmet herself was marching in front of her heavy axemen, all of whom dressed in armor and face mask resembling her. While then Anhur marched in the front rows with skirmisher peltastai of the army, each one bearing a few Javelins to fight their enemies. Anubis rode his Hetairoi Hippeis to the right wing of the army with Horus taking command of the center wing marching with Thorax swordsmen as they travel the paved roads towards Sparta.

Thoth followed along with Anubis while Thoth himself rode mounted on Sophia's back. Thoth armed with his bow and book of magic made sure to admire the warriors around himself. Still shocked Anubis had gathered a formidable army in so little time. Still despite some victories and some promising results with the men around him Thoth looked back up at Anubis and whistled. "So what should we expect in Sparta Anubis? What will they use to defend themselves from us?" Thoth asked while raising this voice. The thunderous marchings of the soldiers around him defence his own polite voice.

"I doubt that the Spartans would be interested in too much fighting. Either they need to keep the Helots repressed, or they are stealing supplies from the local Roman Garrisons." Said Anubis as he kept his eyes scanning the horizon while Horus looked around for possible threats from either sides of the road, there were some woods and trees shrouding their sights therefore, their visions were restricted.

As they marched however, Apollo heard the thunderous footsteps and drums, trumpets interrupting his musical performance. He grumbled under his breath as he felt the earth shook under his feet and went out with Hermes to find the source of the sound. "Well well, the great Strategos had finally shown up. It is time to Sssssmmmmiiiiiittttee the Romans!" Said Apollo as he raised his voice again to sing his hymns to various Spartans in the nearby guerrilla encampment.

Startled by the sounds of loud war waging stomping Thoth rose his finger into the air and looked around with his chest puffed out. To him the sounds were coming from all sides while an invisible army continued ligerning behind tree line. Thoth grit his beak back and forth rather nervously before he felt his impulse grow. As such his book opened up and with a quick drag of his finger down on a single page he ignited his finger like a magical match. Only his finger glew a blue color cyan hue. He looked over to Anubis while pointing his intext finger up into the air. "If you find yourself to feel fear in the heat of incoming war then look no place further than to hide behind my shadow. I feel a great act of emotional release coming for both of our sides." Thoth spoke.

As they march forwards coming closer to Sparta, the sight of Apollo riding his chariots into the air soon caught the eyes of Anubis and his army as they look at the singing Greek deity landed his chariot next to Anubis with a map rolled up in his hand. "My Royal Edict! Warrant of Arrest, the brutish Roman Invaders. Being under suspicion of aggression and the arts of enslavement." Apollo sung and raised his voice high to make his point heard as Anubis took at the map he brought to them. "Anyone found harboring them will be judged." Replied Anubis but in a dry tone that broke Apollo's notes, this caused the fiery diva deity to fume and frown somewhat. "You know what to do take up arms and take victory." Said Apollo as he flew into the air with his chariots.

As Anubis examined the map with Anhur, Horus, Sekhmet and Thoth, they saw that the main Roman bodies in Hellas had indeed moved North to fight Dacia, but the war against the Dacians had turned into a meat grinder as the news from the North stated, the Romans in Hellas hadn't returned in full with only one major Legion patrolling the area North of Athens. "We have a clear cut in Sparta and Corinth, we'll march up to the South of Athens, then make encampments there to lay siege to the city and link up with Athena. The Romans will scramble back down to counter our advances but we'll defeat them regardless." Stated Anubis as he used his quill to draw up arrows of their march from Sparta to Athens.

Looking at this Thoth scoffed not impressed by the decision to move back north. It seemed to him the entire roman legion was too focused on northern events to hold out on all sides. Not only that their massive expanse was far too great for them to even control. He looked up north knowing still what the Romans are after. "Odd move on their end. They can't simple be so blind as to disregard a southern invasion? Could they?" Thoth asked feeling dumbfounded.

Anhur shook his head at this as he took note of the marked Garrisons and various town Militias occupying the cities. "No, they would most likely have messengers to carry the news North should they see us coming. Therefore, we must expect them to return." Said Anhur as he drew up segmented lines to indicate possible directions for messengers to ferry the News to various Roman garrisons around Hellas and further up North where he placed a question mark to denote unknown directions and marching orders. "It matters not, we'll feast on their carcasses and drink their blood like fine wines eventually." Sekhmet remarked sounding rather excited by the prospect of having Romans for her feasts.

Once again Sekhmet's ravenous nature gave Thoth a slight hint of fear as he knew her to be quite ravenous in the midst of battles. Although, part of him feared for the the lives of the Roman troops knowing like a cat she likes to play and toy with her victims. He cleared his throat out and looked back up to the thankfully more stable Anhur to further strategies. "Then it would be in our best interests to keep hidden for as long as we must. I'm afraid tough any Roman new messenger is either to be executed or preferably apprehended. Please let it be the latter." Thoth hoped.

"No promises on the messengers, I can only do what's necessary depending on the situation." Said Anubis as he rolled up the map and placed it inside his satchel pack mounted on Ramiel's side before continuing his march with the army, as they moved forward, they begin to see Spartan Armies moving out of the forest in front of them and line up on the road.

Far from the sight of battle hardened warriors that legends portray them to be, Anubis saw a rather battered army with aging equipment like Dory spears and Hoplon shields. Their Corinthian style helmets haven't changed for nearly 3 centuries.

The bronze cuirass and red shields bearing the Lamda letter in Greek alphabets remain the iconic image of the Spartans in Thermopylae. "Has Ares returned?" The Spartan King stepped forward and asked Anubis.

The Jackal deity likewise shook his head to the king while slumping his face down looking at the Spartan leader. "No, he hasn't. But Nike has, to Sparta." Said Anubis, spoken in a terse manner and tone, fitting to the Spartans mannerism and overall lifestyle. Impressed by Anubis's economic in words, the Spartan King nodded to Anubis and placed his right hand over his heart.

"Then let's march. Nike doesn't wait." Said the Spartan King before turning back to his men and shouted his order to them. "Marching Order! Face reverse!" He ordered to the Spartans, numbering around less than ten thousands. They then march out with Anubis, moving ahead of the Jackal Guards towards their home city of Sparta.

As they marched, the sights of previous skirmishes were seen as the Spartans and their lessers of the Spartan society left their marks on the battlefields, Roman forts and watchtowers abandoned, some were burned to the ground by their own occupants to avoid being captured by the Greeks. Anubis saw that various Roman wooden forts hastily erected and abandoned by their masters to find shelters elsewhere.

Seeing these ghost towns gave Thoth some sense of eerie feelings as they approached. The Spartans clearly waged their own personal war with the Romans, but clearly the Roman troops themselves were having issues setting up a proper fort to hold the line. Seeing the shoddy craftsmanship Thoth looked over to Anubis. "Odd. I feel as though something is holding them back form constructing mighty establishments. Has Vulcan been overwhelmed with demands, or has something interrupted his work effort?" Thoth asked.

"I like to think that a shift in Roman Emphasis has been made." Horus stated as he took a look at the fallen Roman forts, signs of clever strategic and tactical thinkings were present with the placements of booby traps, stakes, spike pits, inflammable moats around 5 meters deep with oil to ignite. "They were apparently trying to erect proper forts, but it seems like the builders were not as cooperative. Hence the poor conditions they found themselves in." Said Horus as he inspect the Fort up close, flying in the air with both wings as he looked at the various construction sites and platforms before moving back to Anubis's side.

The army soon arrived at Sparta, seeing the city has fallen from grace and glory with the place being an almost ghost town like status. Anubis tilted his head forward to survey the area, noting that the city was apparently abandoned by the Homoioi class and the returning Spartans were those who fled their own city. Now they returned, weary, haggard and hungry. Their Helots followed them amplifying their numbers but the Helots were not meant to fight up close like Spartan citizens. They were screening troops and missile troops. Auxiliary troops of Sparta, the Periokolos armed with lighter spears and shields and armor were on the wings of the Homoioi body to prevent enemy flanking attacks breaking the line.

The Romans were inside the city, but as they stepped out to hold the line, the sight of Town Guards and low level militias going up against category A troops was unnerving to the defenders. They saw on all sides they were surrounded, with the Spartans in the center marching down the boulevard towards the center of the city. The Egyptians Jackal Guards on the flanks to protect their Spartan allies were preventing the Romans from achieving a flanking superiority. But even then, their forces were not armed or properly trained to conduct those maneuvers to exploit their advantages.

"We have this battle in our hands! Troops engage, but hold your caution. When we do engage don't let you faith go too high. Even if you do view more meager soldiers we have just as much advantages in our view as they may. View your battlefield with your eyes and perceive it as such. Never let yourself become clouded in thoughts of our possible advantages. Always hold caution and truth rule our judgment." Thoth said as he followed by Anubis. It seemed if he were ever to lead a battle even his version of wisdom would lead the men rather than a boldserting booming voice leading the charge.

"Two choices! Helots or the River of Styx. Which will it it be?" Anubis shouted out to the Roman garrisons in the city, as they huddle together to form their defensive Testudo formation, a variant of the popular Testudo formation employed by Roman Legions. The feeling was tense, with the Greeks surrounding them on all sides, a Legatus was seen riding out on a white horse clad in his regal Roman armor to face the Greeks and Egyptians. "With the power bestowed upon me...I have declared...total unconditional surrender of Spartan Garrison!" The Legatus shouted but with hesitance ruling his voice.

Seeing the white colored horse was already an indication of some defeat as if it were a white flag. However, hearing the legatus say himself the entire Spartan garrison was to be surrendered only made Thoth both more relieved, and yet also shocked knowing how stubborn the Romans were. Hearing this tough he looked over to Sekhmet nervous she would throw a fit for the moment knowing her bloodshed lust would have to go unquenched. "That was… Expected? Unexpected?" Thoth asked to himself.

"Lay down your arms and step out...now!" Said Anubis with a booming male voice, fearing for their lives, the Militias began to toss down their weapons. They stepped out one at a time, throwing down their Scutum shields and Gladius swords. They walked passed the Spartans, frightful knowing their fates now lied in the hands of the Spartan hosts. Anubis watched with scowls and snarls as they passed him by looking so tired and demoralized, they seemed to have subsist without much meat or grains let alone wines to live by. "So this is the mighty Roman Army...reduced to a bunch of mewling infants. Pathetic." Sekhmet scowled at them as she hissed at one of the militia.

Each one of the soldiers looking so malnourished and without proper health care seemed to press on more with Thoth's suspicions. Just about each one looked dead, or dead on the inside. Forgotten and neglected by the whole of the empire. Not only that either Ares or Bellona would have known about this. Being war deities these soldiers being weak would have raised alarming concerns for the deities. "Not good. Below optimals levels. Anubis if i may interrupt your victory I would like to possibly interview one of these soldiers. Something in their empire has gone a miss, and now even their own deities have taken this to lower levels. Something is terribly wrong." Thoth started looking on.

Anubis nodded to Thoth and made a whistle to his troops to prepare an encampment for rest at Sparta before planning their next moves towards Athens to regroup with Athena. "Find out what you can Thoth. If there's a disease, make sure you stop it. I'll be looking for way to keep on the march." Said Anubis as he rode on his horse to the provision store of the city and began to examine the supplies left in the city. Much to his horror, not a single spec of grain was left there. All of the city's granaries have been emptied and apparently the Romans were fighting a Guerrilla War with the Spartans, resulting in the crops of the city untended and food had to be brought in from home provinces.

The Jackal Guards quickly got to work, with the troops setting up tents and barracks for living quarters and erecting wooden barricades to keep out spies, they herded the Roman troops into the camp's extended quarter where they can be properly examined by Thoth. There, the Romans were put into chains and collars, with a large metal ball on the ground to prevent them from running away.

The Romans were also marked with a Greek writing of "Romanoi" on their tunics to mark them as POWs from the native Greek populations. Thoth can see that the pale and somewhat shrunken faces of the Roman militias with black smog signs on their skins were apparently in some form of diseases, either from starvation or hygiene problems.

Each one of the malnourished soldiers were given equal looks from Thoth, and just by looking at them he could see their symptoms. Just from their faces alone it looks like life had been sucked dry form them all. Not a pretty sight for Thoth to gaze at. Not one bit either as he documented each of their symptoms. "So tell me now. Has the whole of the Roman empire sent you out and left you to suffer out here? Have you been forgotten? What is the current status of Rome, and her deities?" Thoth asked in persistent question order so he could receive the most information from each of them.

The militias coughed out and held their stomachs and lungs to keep themselves warm at the very least. But their sicken stature and apparent lack of nutrition has left them with little strengths to go on in details about their country's own well being. "Rome...is dying." One of them said. "With Plebs such as I, we have no homes, food or even medicines to live by...that was until some reforms last summer, we were granted some lands and rights to work." Another militia stated before groaning around. "We prayed to our Gods, Bacchus, Bellona, Vulcan, Janus and others to relieve us of our plights, but only war can free us now. Our Senators...have failed us." Said another Militia as he drifted away into sleep after so much restless nights.

As the militia there rested Thoth felt an odd sympathy flow over his mind looking at the depraved soldiers. To him it was best to allow them to surrender at this point. Going into actual battle. With the soldiers may have been complete overkill. Cruel even knowing they could not even support themselves let alone a weapon. Thoth finished his notes and went back to the strategos of the operation, Anubis so he could show him the results found here. "Disheartening. As if they are stray dogs." Thoth stated.

Anubis at that moment was at the city's square organizing some logistic baggage trains that will trail the army as they advance upwards to Athens, he was holding a map in his hand with some papers to calculate the average distance his army with the baggage train can march out to. He used some measurement tools to plot out waypoints and various markers on the road with the Spartans to move about. Thoth can see that Anubis was assembling hammocks of all things to work as part of his army's logistic, a depiction was made by Anhur showing a hammock can be used by three person, one lying down on the hammock to rest, two others on either ends of the pole carry him. Whenever one of them got tired, the rested will come out to replace the tired men.

Such an odd way of transporting others seemed normal for Anubis to use. Thoth knew Anubis to think outside of the box normally, and this strategy of soldier transport was not new to even Thoth to see. The only thing Thoth could really remark on was how the method was oddly pampering to the soldiers. Regardless cleared his throat out before approaching Anubis not to startle the jackal. "I come to you with a report Anubis. I think you'd find this most alarming unfortunately…" Thoth said solemnly.

Anubis let out a sigh as he turned to face Thoth with both hands tucked behind his back facing the wise ibis. "Is there a problem Thoth? What of our Roman prisoners?" He asked looking at Thoth without batting an eye. Anhur himself stood next to Anubis and Horus listening in closely to what the High Vizier had to say about situation. "I hope it's not some new diseases that will spread to us. Flees alone are horrible enough already for me." Said Anhur as he scratch his mane to pick out possible fleas on his body.

"I'm afraid this might be the case however." Thoth said as he opened his book to Anubis. He drew down surprisingly elegant looking drawings of the Roman prisoners. Drawing in the book he possessed for so long made him an expert artist it would seem. He detailed of course the various diseased spots on each of the soldiers, and the odd dead look each of them had. The sunken in faces in his drawing were clear. "They have spoken out. Each has said Rome is doomed, their senators failing as leaders, and the state of their gods… Well I'll just be frank. Somehow each deity has neglected their pantheon or something has gone wrong. I hope to believe their mana is running low, or the state of high council is causing worship to be placed elsewhere. This way I can not fault them on their actions rather assist when I can reach the deities." Thoth said gently.

Anubis nodded to Thoth as he stroke his chin puzzling by the apparent bizarre situation of the Roman homefront, the information presented to him showcase an interesting opportunity but also a risk and moral, ethical dilemma as he march his forces up Hellas.

"Neglecting duties, indulging in frivolous matters, failing crops and even rising diseases. Perhaps you should look into their stomachs as well Thoth. I'm willing to bet that their current physical condition first and foremost might be caused by failing crops or some sort of infected grains." Said Anubis to Thoth as he paced around back and forth trying to come up with a reasonable explanation to what has been happening.

"As for their pantheon, it is strange that Bacchus doesn't care much about the state of Roman grain, considering he held a position of being God of Wine and food of the Romans. Unless...someone is sowing diseases on purpose in the Roman Homefront." He perks his ears and head up feeling something of interest coming into mind that might intrigue Thoth. "It could be her...Discordia." He uttered.

Thoth hearing this then turned around immediately. "Well I would need to do much experimentation on the soldiers. If there are any deceased in their ranks I would need to borrow their bodies. I-if that is quite alright with you. A dissection would need to be done. If not I need to perform a live one then to see their stomachs." Thoth said as he moved back to the barracks. Once there he cupped his hands around his beak and shouted, "Bring out your dead!"

Hearing the order from Thoth, the Jackal Guards went to pick out their dead prisoners, some have passed away rather quick after being captured due to the prologue starvation and diseases. Some of the pale men still have their eyes wide open, it took the jackals to close their eyes before finally move them out to Thoth's medical tent where he can dissect the dead Romans to inspect their innards conditions. The tent of Thoth was set up with white silky cotton to help ventilate air and keep the inside a cool and sterile environment to the best it can be. There, Thoth had a wooden table with a white sheet over it, enough for a man to be put on. There were also trays and urns for his scrolls, equipment and other knowledges that might be of use to the campaign.

For the dissection Thoth made sure to keep proper hygiene by wearing something over his hands. It was crude, but given the circumstances he wore leather gloves. He kept a towel over the man's lower region while the deceased man's abdomen was exposed for Thoth to run his testing. At first he grabbed a scalpel to start out. He held the scalpel just to the right of the man's body, and then dug it down into his flesh gently letting the blade do the work rather than forcefully cutting into the flesh himself.

Thoth then let the blade drag backwards to cut into the man's body. Skin parted ways with each other, and by now cold blood leaked from the body leaking out red liquid. Thoth sighed as the smell of blood reached his senses and shook his head. "Even this smells more foul than it should…" Thoth said. He then used a pair of forceps to hold the abdomen of the man open allowing Thoth a clear view of the body's stomach. A pair of scissors were then used to cut the man's stomach open letting loose what little the man had to eat as well as the remaining stomach acid.

Once Thoth looked into the man's stomach, he would find that the organ seemed to have been infested with worms and parasites, creatures that were suckling the nutrients he had eaten and feed themselves, growing ever larger with larvaes expecting to grow and hatch very soon as well. He saw that these strings like worms stretching centimeter long across the Roman Militia body latched onto his various organs, making their removal difficult thanks to their sharp teeth possible infection. Judging by the coloration, these may have been a sort of parasite, which larvaes came from the farm lands of Latinum, perhaps from poor fertilizer and the crops grow with said fertilizer.

Normally a dissection such as this would be easier for Thoth to look into knowing how long he and Anubis have worked in unison. He still remembers Anubis having to dissect his own mother, Nephthys, which to Thoth was more disgusting mentally. However, this was enough to make his stomach turn and for him to gag disgusted. "Oh lord!..." Thoth said as he looked to the disgusting sights. He turned to really anyone nearby to make his announcement. "I certainly hope there are vaccines for this. This is certainly a bad case of malicious organisms within this man's body. Parasites, Larvae, they are even breeding within this man. Or were. Without life support some are doomed to die." Thoth said with a shudder.

A physician Jackal next to Thoth gagged out seeing this just as much as the deity, he may had been trained in medicines to aid anyone wounded in the field battles. But he had never seen anything like this before, "What in the world? I've never seen any parasites like this before...except sometime, some draughts in Egypt or poor fertilization of crops might breed them. But overall, we didn't see them much to be worried by their presence." Said the jackal physician as he slowly looked back into the stomach of the Roman, he held up a pincher and slowly reached into the stomach of the man, feeling the wet and bloody interior reaching up the metal instrument, he clipped one of the worm and pick it out of the stomach.

He pulled out what appeared to be a worm around 5cm long before gently putting it down on a metal tray next to the table. "These things look like they've been having a field day. Too much food has been fed to this one and all them gobbled by these worms, all under his noses." Said the physician as he picked out another worm, slightly shorter but no less disgusting to look at.

The wriggling specimen was hard to look at even as it was out of the corpse's stomach. Not only that, but the smell alone was enough to disgust Thoth more than he felt the need to be. He thought of this not as a disease, but some kind of plague now. Something here has gone amiss for the Romans. To him this was not natural. Something far beyond natural had occurred here. "Report this to the stratgo- i mean Anubis. He'd need to know this. I feel the war is already over and now we are euthanizing poor Rome." Thoth said grimly.

The physician bowed his head to Thoth as he put the leather gloves on the table and washed his body off before heading off to inform the strategos. The jackal washed himself with a tub of water and a bucket at the camp's washing area before finally running off towards Anubis. He found his Strategos to be putting the final touches on the marching order of the army, the jackal physician ran to Anubis's side and whisper into the strategos's ears.

"Sir, our examinations of the Roman's deads have found that they...were infested...with worms. Parasites that were breeding inside of the person's bodies, we found long, strings like worms that feed off the man's stomach and his nutrients." Said the physician, each words coming out of his mouth was like a blade driven into Anubis's stomach, twisting and turning him inside out with the kind of revelation that could potentially discourage future endeavors.

"You're kidding? Right?" Anubis asked holding the physician's shoulders with both hands. To his chagrin, the jackal soul shook his head. "No sir, I am not, the High Vizier is still working on the corpses right now. Perhaps you should see them." Said the jackal physician as Anubis walked with him back to the medical tent to see Thoth and his works on the Roman's corpses around the place.

Thoth looked back into the stomach of the corpse there. The body was open long enough for the gut to let off a foul rotten stench into the air. Anubis found that the soldier was more than just neglected, but it seems foul play was in effect. Almost a literal sense as well since he saw even the sights and smells to have made Thoth sick right down to the pit of his own stomach. Thoth looked over and sighed. "Your thoughts here Anubis? I'm still attempting to identify the species of such a parasite." Thoth stated.

Anubis took a look at the parasite, he frowned at the sight of the creature's long string like appearance with its circular mouth almost like a suction cup with sharp teeth to latch on the stomach of the host.

"Kinda disgusting for the parasite...but to think that...someone is poisoning the Legions with these...it's almost low. Not one of ours that I can tell. But knowing the toxicity of Rome's politics and its inner workings I would say...this could be the work of Discordia. Just a hunch but I have a feeling that if the grains are exported we can have countless more victimized in the process." Said Anubis as he stroke his chin feeling the disgusting appearance of the worm getting to his mind as he put it down. "If we invade Rome...IF...then we will have to burn down the crops there and dig up the farmlands to mark off possible infection. Starting with fertilization." Said Anubis as he took a step back holding his sensitive canine nose.

It was then Thoth held a hand over his own nostrils feeling the awful musky scent reach his own sense of smell. He even backed up with Anubis and shook his head. "I never thought Discordia to be even this foul. This is beyond even her own chaos. I feel Rome as a whole has grown tired of their own politics. The pantheon like the country is in shambles." Thoth said absolutely horrified.

"This is just too grotesque...even for my liking...to think that a pantheon can become apathetic to the point of punishing their worshippers for the fun of it...Discordia herself...I wonder if she even has any restraints in her anymore?" Anubis gagged at the thought, finding that Discordia maybe too similar to Set. But even then, Anubis find the comparison a bit of a stretch, Set maybe sadistic and chaotic, but he was chaos with a purpose and sophistication, Discordia was chaos for the sake of chaos. Unchecked and unrestrained destructions for the gleeful fun of it. "We better burn these dead Romans we have. Then move to liberate Athens, Athena must know of this development...otherwise...we might be looking at a total break down of society via infectious diseases." Said Anubis as he went out seemingly pale with disgust.

An order was soon made, a mass grave was dug up in the clearing outside of Sparta and the Jackals were busy tossing in dead bodies, one by one, the grave was filled, stacked with so much dead, it can easily be taken as Sparta's newest supply of Helots. The Spartans didn't like the idea of burning their own Helots, but for survival and quarantine, they willing to make the sacrifice. Oil was poured into the grave filling up the corpses, Anubis stood over the grave's edge and tossed down a torch and let the flame burn down everything he saw. Leaving no traces or diseases left to spread.

Thoth himself looked onwards at the flames as they rse upwards and one again held a and over his nostiles. Knowing how bad the stretch of burning bodies would reek he followed behind anubis and sighed still thinking of a way to document this disease. He opened his book once again and shook his head. "This is the type of event you do not wish to fall upon your worst enemy. I still need to identify the specimen collected. Unless she created them for this purpose." Thoth stated.

"Though grimly I wish for their suffering, as always, I would learn to regret my wish for it might become reality. One that's all too terrifying for anyone." Said Anubis with a grim tone as he watched the flames burning down the corpses of the Roman Militias and the dead in the pit. He felt an increasingly visible unease towards the idea of fighting the Romans, as they may not all be fit for war like he had anticipated. So much efforts have been placed on learning the Roman positioning that he neglected their health conditions, the question now was whether the Romans had fed the populace of Athens and other Greek cities with the same poisoned and tainted grains.


	8. Chapter 7: Betrayal

Athens, the cultural capital of Hellenism, the homeland of Greek philosophers and their schools, now under occupation of Roman Legions. And yet, the Legions with the most feared reputation had moved North, to fight in Dacia, leaving the city to be guarded by lowly militias and their handful of agents in town. But the scene of Athens mirrored that of Sparta somewhat, even though the city was not deserted like a barren wasteland, the populace of the city were hiding from their Roman occupiers. Tales of men with paled skin and skinny frail bodies shaking in the streets, the militias holding the place weren't even able to walk about freely as they used to as their body simply cannot muster the strength to do so.

Out at sea, the liberation force was coming, standing tall and brave on the bowl of her flagship, Athena survey the horizon, seeing that Athens had been quiet, with the Roman fleet confined to the harbor and undermanned, she saw an opportunity to liberate her beloved worshippers at last had comed. "To arms brave warriors! For Freedom and Justice!" Cried the captains as their Hoplites began to chant "Enyalios" as the ships draw nearer to the port. The Romans in Athens saw the incoming naval assault troops moving ashore both in and around Athens, surrounding the city's walls and cutting off the Roman garrison into sections that they can handle.

A bloodbath soon ensued, with the Greek Marines and shock infantries charging into lines of ill prepared militias, they cut down Roman troops with their Thorax and Xiphos swords, punching through the lightly armored militias that were trying to hold them off with whatever strength they can muster. "Rally to me, Champions of Olympus!" Athena shouted as she landed on the ground in the city square, causing a wind blast that thrown Roman troops off from their prepared defensive lines and held her spear high.

The Athenian saw their patron Goddess return and bursted out in joyous cheers, frightened populace began to armed themselves with knives, clubs, stones and bricks, anything that they can get their hands on and charge into Roman troops guarding the city's Awesome Temple of Athena.

Greek Hoplites from the harbor front and outside the walls were now pushing into the city, following the heroic assault of Athena towards the temple of their proud city, Greek hoplite formations marched in tightly packed and densed lines. They were like a clunky wall pushing at the Roman Legionnaires at the temple's front entrance, the Romans quickly tossed their pillums at the Greek hoplites, cutting down the Sons of Hellas one at a time, some pillums were shrugged off by the angled spears.

But soon, the Greeks were at the very front of Roman troops, they began to impale and thrusted their spears into Roman troops exposed neck and faces, dropping the defenders down one by one like eggs. Athena charged into, slamming into the Roman center and broke through their forces defensive posture. With so many enemies and so few able bodied men, the Romans surrender after a bitter struggle for survival.

With the Romans in Athens surrendered Athena held high her spear and Owl Ibid, proclaiming in her native Greek. "Nike!" She shouted and the crowds followed, "Nike! Nike! Nike! Nike!" Victory, they have achieved it, the yoke of Roman aggressions were thrown off their backs and they were now free Greeks once again, Athens broke into overwhelming celebration as the city gather up Roman prisoners and count them for slavery.

Outside of Athens city limits, Anubis was now marching with the Jackal Guards into the city, the deity of the dead smelled something rotten in the air, the same one he encountered in Sparta, the rotting corpses and rancid smells of Roman dead, poisoned by their own food and parasites now crawling out of their disemboweled stomachs. He looked to his right and left while riding on his horse Ramiel, he saw the various piles of dead bodies that the Greeks were burning to prevent future infections and possible vampiric creatures rising from amongst the dead.

Behind him of course was Thoth who stood up to Anubis's left side to gaze upon the stomach wretched sight here. It was not only repulsing to smell or even look at, but the thought of the odd plague cursing the roman troops was a chilling thought to think of on as well. Thoth moved up looking at each of the burning piles in a slight silent horror in his head. "It's obvious to say this at this point, but the Romans here were infected as well. Only Athens isn't under my watch. I fear this may have contracted to the citizen s as well." Thoth said grimly.

"I fear for the same, after all, the Romans might have let the citizens of Athens eat the same grains as they did." Said Anubis as they soon came to the city with wide open gates and the Greek Hoplites on the top cheering their arrival, the sight of celebration soon ruptured into a flood of pride and friendship as the Jackal Guards marched into Athens in a long column of warriors, bringing with them the exotic gold and treasures of the East, the cultures they represent and the values they fought for. The populace tossed down wreaths and petals of flowers on them with Anubis hailed as "Χέταροι της Αθηνάς", or "Companions of Athena."

"Well, they might have figured it out sooner than I thought." Said Anubis as he reached the Awesome Temple of Athena, where he saw the Goddess of Wisdom and Justice standing proudly with Greek hoplites behind her waiting for him. He dismounted from Ramiel's back and walked up to her shaking her hands with Horus, Anhur and Sekhmet following him.

"We have done it, the first step to Hellas liberation has been achieved." Said Athena as she shook his hand. "Ναί, but let's not get too self assured, the Romans will be back, they will be back." Said Anubis as he looked back at the cheering crowd of priests, merchants, artisans, peasants and Hoplites shouting his name in admiration holding their hands high with statues and figurines of him as a mark of respect, some even held high their own Hellenic styled busts of Anubis with a wreath on his head, entitled "Στρατηγικές της Ελλάδας", "General of Hellas".

Thoth stepped forwards in front of Athena. He himself bowed to her respectfully, by leaning his back down, and one hand placed across his own chest. He then stood back up and sanctioned wearing his concerned face. "I assume the conflict between your soldiers and the legionnaire's of the Romans went without much issue. For you at least." Thoth said recalling here bodies being burned. The smell of flesh scented smoke would be one he would not soon grow unfamiliar with. "This is however concerning. Knowing their might, and some previous found information about the… Well how should I put this… under performing troops they have I have found something most disturbing lurking in their bodies." Thoth stated.

"What is it that disturbs you Nomarchros?" Asked Athena as she leaned her head in to listen closely. "We found parasites and worms that were nesting inside the Roman soldiers stomachs, sucking up nutrients of their food and leave them a lifeless husks of humans." Said Anubis in a grim tone, he didn't sound like he was going to take some moments to snark or revel in the miseries of his enemies.

"The worms came from infected grains and some sort of tainted fertilizers, I can't imagine this being Bacchus's works but I can imagine it being Discordia's work." He continued with Athena nodding slowly to them apparently she too had her suspicion of the Romans being under performed for the time being.

"So then, in another word, Discordia is sowing her creations and seeds at the worst possible time for the Romans. I would have no doubts that some forces is convincing her to do this dirty work." Said Athena as she twirled her spear in hand and rested it on her her Aegis shield. The ibid owl landed on Anubis's shoulder before hooting out at Anubis and Thoth. "Ibid is weary that the Romans might have introduced the tainted grains and fertilizers into the country to grow crops in Athens and occupied cities. Therefore we must inspect the granaries immediately." Said Athena as she looked out to the granaries of Athens where the food was store.

Thoth looked out to the granaries, and smelled the air as he searched for the scent of the festering parasite he found within to Roman soldier bodies. He shook his head and sighed. "I can't get a good scent here. A careful close inspection is needed here unfortunately." he said turning back to the owl. He reached a hand out and stroked the owl on the head. "Perhaps Ibid would feel the unnatural presence of the parasite. Should not be natural of course" Thoth said.

Anubis who was following Thoth in the granary and Athena as they inspect first and foremost the grains for Roman Legions, it seemed that there was a separate section the Roman made to easily count the military supplies and the civil supplies if the need arise. At the Military section, Anubis saw various brown wicker sacks of grains, apparently imported from Rome. "You there, when did these sacks come to town?" He asked the stock inspector of the granary.

The Greek men who was holding a calculator in his hand and a chalkboard on the other began to explain. "Well the Romans imported these recently, about 3 weeks ago to fill up the city's stocks but they received not to import anymore out of fear of food poisoning. I calculated there's around 15000 sacks full of grains." Said the stock inspector as he moved the beads around on his calculator to check the stock.

Anubis would then draw his Xiphos sword and thrust it into a stuffed sack, he pulled the sword down slowly, unveiling the sack's content. Ibid then flew over to the sack as the owl landed on the pile next to the grains, he moved about pushing the grains with his beak, lifting and flipping the grains slowly before pushing one in particular out to the sunlight. "There it is. Look at the white mark on this grain not a normal one don't you think?" Athena asked as she pointed to the highlighted pale white mark on a grain, it was like a poisonous smudge that was eating into the interiors of the grain. "Most concerning indeed. I believe this must be the parasite's egg before being ingested." Said Anubis as he crossed his arms looking at the grain.

Thoth himself formed a pair of eyeglasses for thin air. They materialized from a bright blue cyan light, but allowed thoth to at least look closer. In fact lose enough to view the parasitic eggs for near microscopic levels. He in fact did see the eggs placed into the grain. Extremely carefully as well as the eggs were nested in the safety the grain made for them, and would later provide the hatched with a food source. "Most concerning. I would advise burning this as well, or quarantining it. Once again I don't recall Discorida relying on such foul techniques. Anything is chaos when used right I suppose." Thoth remarked.

Anubis nodded to Thoth as he snapped his fingers to order his Jackal Guards into the place, they then helped Anubis moved the grains of the granary out to a burying ground outside of the city using wagons to haul supplies, once there, they tossed down oil on the sacks and tossed down a torch to burn the grains in a large pyre.

As the flames of burning grains rises from Athens surrounding country sides, the news from Roman auxiliaries and Messengers rode up north of the Attica peninsula. They soon reached a massive Roman encampment near the border between Athens's Attica domain and the Makedonian city of Larissa. The fort had a wooden wall structure with guard towers on four corners ready to rain fire arrows down on approaching enemies. The Messenger ran into the tent of the Legatus of the Legion to meet with the general there.

"Ave Caesar!" Said the messenger as he handed a scroll message to the Legatus sitting by the table with some food like grapefruits and apples. "Grave news from Athens, the city has fallen to the Greeks, and there is news of an Egyptian army stationing there to protect the city." The messenger stated looking quite shock and frightened by the apparent assault force that the Egyptian army boasted.

The Legatus he spoke to however was of the Julii family in Rome. He stopped to listen to the message just as he took a sip of his sweet yet grainy wine. He put the cup down slowly, and took the news rather calmly unlike how other Roman officials may take it. The man there had a more ovular shaped head, short yet wavy light brown hair, green eyes, a light thin mustache and a greying beard right under his chin. "I instructed to those bumbling morons that the south was an invading force waiting to happen. Family pride of ancestorist would love for Rome to fall to procure land we don't need. I warned them of this error." The Legatus said as he stood back up. He cross his hands behind his back and tilted his face to look high up at the ceiling. "I fear our days as an empire draw near. A dwindling flame ready to run out of warmth drawing to a ark ending. And our enemies can see this." He spoke.

"Sir, we have been instructed by the Senate to counterattack regardless and take back Attica as well as the province of Peloponnesian." Said the Messenger as his knees buckled in fear knowing that Legatuses wrath were nothing to be toyed with. However, the annoyance of the Legatus would only be exacerbated further when he heard the trumpet sound of an approaching fellow Legion, not of the Julii but of the pompous Brutii. He saw that at the Northern end of his encampment, marched a column of Roman Legion, the Legio IX Graecia. One of the two remaining Category A Legions Rome had left in the region. "Ave Caesar, I hear of Athens falling into the enemies hands. Fear not as the Brutii shall restore Roman rules over the area." Said the Legatus in a proud and boastful tone, he was clearly the son of Crassus.

Despite the man being the son of Crassus it was not much to sway the Julli Legatus's thinking. He shook his head to the Brutti slowly and looked the category A formation. Despite what he saw as being more assertive and more impressive there was something wrong in his head. It was a delayed defence against the invaders. It should have been placed on defence as soon as the Egypt forces even drew anywhere near.

The other issue was this was one of the last formations. "I would think an impressive defensive strategy would require more soldiers. And one would have been erected as our enemies drew closer. This is certainly some type of delay. Our enemies have the advantage and won't halt until they are swarming into the streets of Hellas. I feel maybe shedding unneeded unused land would prove to be more efficient than holding onto it." the man said.

"Nonsense!" The Brutii Legatus shouted, swinging his sword in the air showing the pompous and youthful recklessness in him. "Rome must triumph! We will take back our lost lands and drive out the Eastern Barbarians with or without you!" Said the Legatus as he ordered his Legion to march out again towards the areas near Athens where they will camp and make use of the hill as an overwatch area to help their army surveying the enemy approaches. "If I were you, I would march out to fight our enemies to drive them back now than later." Said the Legatus as he rode off leaving the Julii counterpart to ponder on his strategies against the incoming enemies.

There was little information he can work on, but the ones about the Egyptian force was most concerning, tales from surviving Romans told of an army of beast like warriors. Each one a Jackal clad in Greek armor and cuirass, brandishing Sarissa spears, lances, pikes, Xiphos and Thorax swords along with various weapons from both Hellenic Warfare and their native Egyptian skirmishing warfare. And their leader, a rider of seeming apocalypse, a dark horseman who always at the forefront of battles running down Roman Legions, aiming at the experienced Triarii first before destroying the vaunted Legion Cohorts.

Facing with the information given to him was a strange task. He was never superstitious and the fact there was some type of mystic occuring with the odd depictions of the leader of the enemy army gave the Julii some other concerns. Even an Egyptian leader would have more trouble with taking out any type of Roman force, and as far as the Julii Legatus could tell was the fact the jackals did not adorn traditional armor. Rather something completely different. The was also the fact the jackal were all of a blackened coloration. Not normal as with how the canines normally appear. "Not what I was expecting to hear for the Egyptian invaders. They must have found something to aid them in this war." he spoke.

"I heard that Legio XI got obliterated in Halicarnassus while fighting these...things." Said the Militarius Laticlavius of the Julii legion as he held a piece of paper depicting the Egyptian Jackal army with a distinctive Roman style fresco relief. It showed an army of comically small and deceptively portioned Jackals mauling and eating the Roman armies who were drawn in more realistic human looking appearances and depictions. However other more down to Earth survivors told of an army led by a deity, a young and fiery God of the Dead, whose cold exterior belies a warrior with fiery heart and stoic mind and his tactics were apparently rather professional and quite interestingly enough, masterful for a so called "Barbarian" that Romans tend to decry him as.

It was an odd item to hear of. Normally or almost always a god would stay out of mortal affairs, and help things along by using their powers to influence the world and events. Deities who had control of the armies for example never led them against other humans, but rather gave power support from farther away. Never within a mortal versus mortal affair. Some time clearly changed the jackal's point of view, and force his hand to lead an army. The trouble however was the army in question had no known origin.

"Legatus, perhaps it would be wise for us to keep our army guarding the approach to Larissa, so if we lose, we might be able to fall back to either Larissa, or Apollonia to catch some ships back to Rome." Said the Militarius Laticlavius as he suggested his superiors of a sound strategy for their long term goals against the enemies. Rumours he had heard enough, but to see the enemies in action would help him even further as to why would a deity be a general and directly led an army. Even Bellona wouldn't be in the heat of battles that often unless she sensed an intense and heated battle with a rival deity of the same role.

Knowing this as well the Legatus nodded slowly and sat back down. "Very well. I rather not send my own army into the fray against something I barely know about. I rather see it for my own eyes and then make judgment. I'll be writing plans while the Brutii foolishly slay themselves." the Legatus spoke as he crossed his arms.

His Militarius Laticlavius nodded to his superiors as the two retired into their respective command tents to plot their general plan for strategic retreat and reinforcing the defences of their homeland from possible future invasions. Back at Athens, as the sun was setting after a day of hard work, the grains were now being stocked up in the city with shipments from Egypt and the Greek cities of Asia Minors coming in to help feed the population of Athens and prevent possible starvation while the farmers return to their fields tending the crops. Anubis was now sitting in his Jackal Guards camp outside the walls of the city on a hilltop writing to his beloved Aphrodite.

My dearest Aphrodite,

Athens have been liberated today along with Sparta and Corinth as well as Thebes, much efforts and progress have been made today to evict the hated Romans from Hellas but the fight is far from over.

For a new enemy has risen, we found Roman militias with frail and fragile bodies, they were infested by parasites and worms born from tainted fertilizers and crops of Latinum. I have yet to eat a single piece of grain other than what's imported from Egypt on our baggage trains.

Thankfully for us, we were prepared enough to prevent starvations and horrid diseases from decimating our ranks and files. We will be marching out again soon the next day, meeting and engaging the Brutii enemies at the foot of Mount Olympus near Larissa.

If we break them there, we will be victorious and Hellas and Makedonia will be freed once and for all. I look forward to seeing you home.

Yours truly

Anubis Inepu

He rolled the letter up into a scroll and put it inside a leather tube like carrier and handed it to a pigeon in his camp. The bird grasp the message with both its talons and flew off to Egypt in the south where the message will no doubt reach Aphrodite in Alexandria, Anubis then stood up and walk out of his tent to see the sunset, dusk in Hellas was somewhat sombre but still feeling somewhat romantic with the stars in the night sky overhead shining like shimmering diamonds and jewelry. "Nut, Grandmother of the Sky, you keep us shielded from Evil above while Grandfather Geb nourish us with his loving Earth. I can't imagine anyone would poison the loving earth for their own amusements." He thought to himself as he stare at the night sky.

The hilltop encampment overlooked the paved roads leading in and out of Athens with the countryside looking like rolling hills and grasslands in between where farmers grow their crops while shepherds tend to the flock and collect wools. He didn't know what to expect in the long run when he reached Rome, but for now, he can expect Ra to come to Hellas with a mobilized Egyptian Army to back up the existing Greek and Jackal Guards.

As Anubis thought to himself, and prayed to his grandparents there was still the letter he wrote to his dearest. The pigeon flew across the dark skies of the Mediterranean Sea until it finally reached the window of Aphrodite all the way in Alexandria still. She of course heard the bird's talons tap onto the stone material of the window still before she heard its soft gentle coos that made her heart soften a bit. She saw there was a note in its small foot. "Oh! Please be from my Anubis!" She eeped out as she took the small note. Much to her joy and partial horror though reading the message he had sent to her gave her some worry for his own life, but also partial concern hearing the news of the tainted food items. "Wait. What? Parasites? How- why would they do that?" she asked herself. She layed back down on the bed alone, and feeling much alone still without Anubis. She sighed anxious to see him again before she looked back up to the ceiling thinking and hoping he'd be safe where he'd travel.

[hr]

Far from the troubles of Hellas and the Mediterranean Powers, the Norse were living in their own troubles with the Romans, the Viking and Germanic tribes there were gathering warriors, archers were drilled in hit and run tactics, raiders with war axe and round shields were honed in aggressive assault tactics with their war axes to cut down the Roman lines while swordsmen bearing the signature longswords learn their hacks and slashes. "Come on lads! Put your backs into it and show some aggressions!" Said Tyr as he bellowed orders at the Vikings, but his attention soon caught sight of a chariot hauled by a pair of cats, each with an albino white belly skin with black patches on their head and left eyes.

On the chariot was a brunette haired woman commanding the cat gracefully as she pulled the chariots gently into its parking space in the Viking seaside camp, her passenger was Gunter the Geats who had returned from the long journey from Hellas and Dacia bearing letters from Anubis to his native home and Asgard warriors. "Gunter m'ah boy! Where have ye been? How did ye survive those brutes captive there?" Tyr asked Gunter as he ran towards the young Viking warrior to be of the tribe.

Gunter himself stood up from the chariot and laughed at Tyr. He held his hand out and grabbed Tyr's own bringing him closer. Well you wouldn't believe if i told ye! A bleeding deity! We had divine intervention come in and save us from the Romans!." Gunter said sounding still just as shocked as the moment he was saved. He backup and shrugged raising his arms upwards ."I come with a note form the army's leader. You won't believe this either, but he's from the south! South of the entire Mediterranean. Egypt amn!." Guner shouted.

"Ye kiddin' me mah boy? Are ye telling me the Egyptians are fighting the Romans now? Well that should help with our efforts here in the Forests near Asgard. We're about to start a Viking raid tonight against a Roman fort on the other side of the Elbe." Said Tyr as he began to lead Gunter to meet with a warband he can fight with, Gunter can recognize the Vikings of the camp was a tribal confederation with slingers, javelinmen as skirmishers with archers as the long range Missile troops to rip through the enemy lines.

However what caught his attention the most was a woman talking to fiery redhead lady in her 40s. "OMG, if that Gunter like doesn't get slaughter at sea like everyone else who's going to Valhalla, I'm not marrying him. Like ever." Said the woman to her neighbor, Edda, she was Gunter's longtime crush since their first campfire meeting when they were young children. She turned her face to the side slightly and caught sight of Gunter walking with Tyr and immediately gasped her mouth, running towards him. "Gunter! Oh my gosh, how did you survive? Wait don't tell me let me guess, you bravely slaughtered every Romans stand in your way with a single axe before running away from sight and got smuggled back here right?" She asked him almost sounding a bit condescending.

He however looked at Edda somewhat caught off guard once again by her forward nature after being gone for so long from the Germanic lands. He grit his teeth a bit expecting her reaction to be somewhat loud when she found out her hopes were not entirely met with what she was hooping for her hero. "Nnnno? Um. We were rescued actually. A dark colored jackal who could stand on his hind legs saved me from certain, uh, forced labour. N-no i wouldn't have let myself be taken as a slave. Never. I had a bit of some help form an otherworldly force, and a big jackal deity." Gunter said cautiously not to spike Edda's personality too high.

Edda frowned at this as her face turned to a more gloomy and disturbingly killer glare at Gunter for his apparent lack of warrior materials. "What!? You're telling me that you brought no slaves back to me and not even a single brave campfire story of your bravery just pure dumb luck!? I am so over with you! Shinji! Get your axe and sharp it up! Bring some Roman slaves back home for me tonight or no dinner with deer hides!" Edda shouted into the long house she shared with her other friend from childhood expecting the scrawny Japanese boy inside to bring out something to help her, namely an ornate iron axe for battles.

Shinji himself heard Edda's piercingly loud voice from afar, and knew just enough that she was angered about something. Of course he was a "man" now, or at least aged enough to be the age of a man despite still being extremely scrawny. The main differences are however he had aged bags under his eyes now, some revacies on the side of his eyes which were crows feet. He nervously sighed out and got out in front of Edda carrying a small battle axe. "Really? I have t-to go after the Romans?" Shinji asked nervously.

Gunter didn't need to look at Shinji too long to know that he was way too thin and frail looking. Some how Edda preferring Shinji over him gave him some offense. "Him? The boy can barely hold an axe properly! The Romans would have him for breakfast. Well they would if they were more savage. You think he can top me? I was in prison and traveled many miles! He's been here doing nothing I can tell!" Gunter exclaimed.

"Ha! Save it Gunter for whatever council who cares! Just go get some Roman slaves and bring their rings to me if you dare to prove that you can married me!" She shrieked out and walked into the long house preparing something of her own for war leaving Shinji and Gunter to a warband in the camp with axes and longswords to attack Roman forces. "You boys stay here. I'mma look for Thor to lead this assault." Tyr said as he walked out to find Thor in the Viking camp.

Meanwhile, Inside of Thor's champion tent, Ratatoskr was seen sitting on a rodent size lounge on the ground with a cream colored kitten with grey patches on his fur, working on a wooden device that seems to print words on a piece of paper, with Ratatoskr reading the sentences for the kitten to punch the words in. "And oh tell them this: Surrender your food and high class jewelry to us or they will have their pants stolen and armored skirts confiscated. Veni Vidi Vici. Thank you." The squirrel stated while munching on his nuts while the kitten typing in the last parts of the letter before picking up the letter in its mouth and brought it over to Ratatoskr.

"Mmmmm, perfect, now to deliver the most demoralizing message the Romans have ever seen!" Ratatoskr boasted as his drill tooth stood out from his mouth, the squirrel held up his hands in the air causing the kitten to follow suite before he scurry out of the tent to deliver his letter and leave Thor be with Tyr.

Being treated to more of Ratatoskr's shenanigans and various mischief, Thor watched as the squirrel deity scurried off. He himself found whatever Ratatoskr's words to lack much needed context, and often generally confused by whatever he said. This time however he would let Ratatoskr send his message. The Romans were already acting way more barbaric and maddened than the Germanic tribes they so feared. It wouldn't hurt to see what Ratatoskr had in mind this time. "I highly doubt any of that had real meaning… i swear I need to find a specialist to deal with squirrels with special brains. Or get a sorcerer to check him for demons." Thor said sarcastically.

"Worry not of the rascal messenger, If I were you, I would not make a deal with another mortal architect. On part of what happened to Loki." Said Tyr in a solemn tone as he recalled the day when Loki had to derail the construction the Norse's new palace and he was...subjected to the dominance of a mortal steed. Needless to say, all were not well from the beginning of the Norse Pantheon and other Pantheons as a whole.

[hr]

The wind blew across the reeds and grasses of Hellas as the heavenly warmth of the sun shine over the mortal's land as the summer air of war dominate the minds of many. The ground shook and rumble as the march of the Roman Legion splinter the earth and shake the heavens above. Cohorts and Auxiliaries move out into a broad battle formation with the skirmisher Velites standing in the front row in loose formations. Behind them were the Legion cohorts armed with Gladius swords and scutum shields. Each of the Legionaries were armed with Pilum javelins to sow disarray into enemy lines.

The Auxiliaries were on the flanks acting as screening force with archer mercenaries from various parts of Italy and Illyria behind the Cohorts to fire over the melee fighters heads. Behind them were the Triarii spearmen and the Praetorian Guards. On the flanks were Legionaries cavalries with stretched pentagonal shaped shields to protect them from the enemy attacks. Their Legatus, mounted on a white stallion, was Felix Crassus, son of the infamously greedy Crassus the Elder. The Legatus stood on the high ground behind his army watching his troops preparing for battle while far behind him, on a hilltop giving an overwatch of the area, Legatus Marcus Lenox was observing the young ambitious general of the Legion facing his Egyptian foes. Next to Marcus was his second in command, Julius Acmeus.

Marcus himself was an extremely heavily built man. Very masculine stature, and a muscular build worn over his body. He looked to be in peak performance as either an athlete, or like he was now a soldier. Only he wasn't on the front lines. He looked to be in about his late 40s or early 50s. A long life lived. He had on top of his head very light colored blonde hair with brown tinge to it. It waved and curled in small crinkles. He had thin pointed eyebrows that rose at an angle at their ends. His forehead was sloped and round showing some partial balding on his head. His eyes however were a grey color with some blue to them.

He held his eyes tight together as he watched the charge go forwards he couldn't help, but to look over at Felix, and make a slightly tensed up glare. Like a judging frown. He looked over to Acmedus and spoke in a heavy deep voice that was near to baritone for normal speech. "Tell me something. I doubt all of the men here will survive this battle. So why is it with the string of losses we are suffering Crassus has placed his own child in the front lines while he himself indulges on a finer life?" Lenox asked to his second in command.

"Only the wise Minerva knows noble Legatus. But I fear intervening and reinforce Crassus's child might be a bad idea." Said the Militarius Laticlavius. The second in command and right hand man of the Legatus was a fairly young officer, around his late 20s with dark olive hair, his face was an oval and slightly jagged chin with blue marble eyes. He wore his Legionaries armor with a scarlet red cape on his back observing the battle that was about to begin.

To the horror of both Marcus and Acmeus, the foes that the Roman legion down range were facing turn out to be the feared Jackal Guards. At the center line, the Guards deployed their Pezhetairoi, Jackals armed with silver shields and Sarissa spears grouped into 256 men strong Phalanx formations to anchor down the enemy assault.

On the wings of the army, Marcus and Acmeus saw infantry similar to the Legion in equipment, only their shields were Thuerophoros Shields from the Celtic tribes, they shaped like a nut with wooden surface reinforced by hides. The infantryman, Peltastai as the Greeks and Egyptians would call them were armed with javelins and Thorax swords to charge in enemy flanks.

On the far right of the army, Marcus saw a massive cavalry force, the Hetairoi Hippeis, elite shock troops of the army with their Strategos, Anubis sitting on the back of Ramiel to lead his warriors into battle while the very front of the army were skirmishers armed with javelins and archers led by Anhur. To the experienced eyes of Marcus Lenox, the forces were evenly matched, but the road to victory is paved by fickle luck. All it takes is one mistake by either side and defeat will snowball into form.

Seeing the wave of the Jackal Guards fall in Marcus grit his teeth together knowing this was the same resistance force that had been disturbing Crassus and acting as a thorn in the sides of the Roman Legion's foot. He sighed and called out his archers. "Archers stand back! Spread out now and get into firing positions! Flanks move to the sides of theri force and strike hard. Phalanx formations spears out now! Felix arm your men now!" Lenox shouted as he delivered orders. It wasn't a shout of fear or of craed sound. It was more stoi and relaxed as he gave out his orders unlike some in the Roman legion.

"Legio! Fall out and form battle formations!" Felix ordered his men as the troops began to spread out and into fighting positions, first came the velites marching forward to face their lighter armed looking Egyptian foes. The champion at the forefront was Anhur marching towards the Roman skirmishers with his spear in hand and a pouch full of spare javelins to use. His warriors came into range and quickly threw their spears at the enemies while the Velites returned the favors.

The rain of javelins fell down on both of them, plunging through men after men, falling the potential Olympic athletes one after another as the struggle continue. Anhur was seen tossing his spear at Roman Velites while his mortal warriors fell around him, as they had expended their ammunition, the two forces fell back to their lines to reorganize. "Φάλαγγα προχωρήσουμε!" Anubis ordered in Greek as his warriors began to push forward with their Sarissa spears on the front row pointed down at the direction of the Roman's Legionaries Cohorts.

The Legionaries sprinted forward coming into range of the Jackal warriors, to their horrors, they saw each of them were not costumes or armor, instead they all were anthropomorphic jackals armed with Hellenic weapons and armor. The legions then threw their pilums at the Jackals in a short but lethal hail that wounded some of the warriors with pilums impaled into their torso and even more gruesome, their heads or necks. The Phalanx formation came into contact with the Legion's Cohorts as the two began to impale one another with their spears and Gladius.

The Legionnaires were kept away from the phalanx formations with the spearmen kept poking and thrusting their spears at the Cohorts, keeping them from making any push to break the center line. On the left line, the Greek hoplites of Athens and allied Greek cities were meeting the charge of Roman cavalries as the force of Legion Cavalry thunder down the plains at the Greek lines. The Hoplites locked their formations in Phalanx with their shorter Doros spears pointing out at the horsemen while their bronze Hoplon shields were held in segmented formations to keep the enemies from breach their already short and thin lines.

"Σταθερά! Μαζί είμαστε τόσο ισχυροί όσο οι Τιτάνες!" Shouted Athena as she stood side by side with her Greek warriors as they held the line against the cavalry. The Romans made a hard right turn and run around the Phalanx formation to hit the Athenian and Greeks in the rear. As they did so, a hail of Egyptian arrows flew at them, humbling horses and men in a hail of death from above. Anhur let out a Lion's roar as he pounced on their flank and thrust his spear against the horses with a force of Jackal Guards Peltastai rushing in to plug the breach in their line.

On the fair right, Felix was riding with his Praetorians towards the Hetairoi Hippeis, much to Marcus's dismay seeing the young Legatus going for glory so hastily. "Forward men! We must claim victory for Rome! Roma Invicta!" He shouted out to motivate the men as his bodyguards followed him towards Anubis's Hetairoi.

To his surprise, the Hetairoi were splitting their formations, dividing themselves into wings and additional wedges on the flanks while Anubis with Ramiel leading a contingent thrusting at the center. The wedges suddenly focus back on Felix's bodyguards force as they charged in, knocking down Felix's men in droves, even the Praetorians were overwhelmed as their formations shattered by the lighting charge.

"To the Eagles brave Romans! Rally to the Eagles!" Acmeus cried out to rally the engaging forces to prevent lost of lives by rash decision making, as the Roman Cohorts in the center began to converge back around the Roman Eagle Cohorts near Marcus Lenox, the cavalries were decimated by Anhur as their forces were now desperately limping back to their starting positions.

On the center and right, Lenox saw the marching of various Pezhetairoi Jackals and Thuerophoros Jackals began to converge on the Legion's positions with swords and spears ready for Roman blood. "Archers at the ready! Fire!" The captains ordered the mercenaries as they fired out hails of arrows down on the marching Jackals, this cut down the troops Anubis had but it wasn't stopping them, as Anubis's archers returned fire, they cut down Roman archers and some surviving Veterans along with them. On the right Felix was seen retreating back to the Senior commanders with his battered Praetorians being chased by Anubis Jackal Guards cavalry force.

However, as Felix retreated Lenox's men were already right ahead of him. Lenox however didn't look back. Once the fight was going down hill for the Roman legion under Marcus's command there wasn't much he could do to raise the battle chances for the Roman side. He himself galloped on his horse as he rallied his remaining men. "Fall back farther! We need to make a new rally point, and let our force regroup form together! We are powerless against the force Kemet had made! Do we have any intel on what that was?" Lenox said with his voice raised.

"Very little o noble Legatus! We do know that they are led directly by Anubis, the Egyptian God of the Dead and he recruits his warriors from the Underworld itself. I dare not say with absolute certainty until I know it from himself!" The young second in command stated to his leader as the Roman Legion of Marcus retreated with him from the hill.

They hastily gathered up their personal belongings and equipment, the Legions of Marcus marched away to the North along with some remnants of Felix's own legion while the young Legatus followed them behind to order them to regroup and fight back. "Get back and fight you cowards! You dare to leave Romans dying in battle? Infamy! Infamy! The Senate will have your head for this!" Felix shouted in dismay as he galloped behind Marcus while the shattered Legion of Felix were being rounded up by Anubis's Jackal Guards and the Greek Hoplites celebrating their victories over Roman aggressors.

Lenox's eye twitched slightly as he marched away with his remaining infantry. "Such lack of reason and logic…" Marcus said as he thought more about what he just witnessed. His anger boiled not for pride of Rome, or even the fact he was called coward. It was the fact each of the allied forces he had were being led by blind leaders who only desired lust for glory. Marcus thought more on hearing the much younger Felix shout out in a mad rant hearing arrogance and ego mix in the worst of ways. "Does he not know when his soldiers are below condition to fight? This is a necessary decision, or else we are all doomed." Marcus said to himself.

"Infamy shall follow you!" Felix shouted out at the rear line as he tag along Marcus's tail coat towards the ports of Apollonia to retreat back to Rome, leaving Hellas wide open for liberation as cities after cities throw out Roman forces and Town Guards, forcing the remaining Romans to gather into a haphazardly made army barely resembling a proper fighting force that they began their campaign with. Behind his back, he can see the flag of Egypt rose high on the foot of Mt. Olympus, marking their monumental progress in liberating the country.

There was no rest for wicked or the weary like him, he had to force march his army to Apollonia without rest or dinner. By the time they have returned, the docks there were full of Roman ships preparing to take them home from the failed conquest of Hellas, the Legions were the first to board the ships before their Cavalry forces turn.

Marcus saw that the Auxiliary were held back for a later boarding while he himself, with Acmedus and Felix were on a flagship to return to Rome. "My father will hear of this disgrace! Roma will not accept treasonous cowards such as you Julii!" Felix berated Marcus behind his back, denigrating him at every opportunities despite the fact that Felix himself made rash call to attack Anubis head on without proper support for his cavalry.

"I rather not allow a young mind like you perish due to arrogance. In these time we need what we can. I fear our own goddess is weak, or tired from our constant demand for territory. We should be more focused on unifying ourselves. Rather than sticking to childish name calling and mudslinging…." Marcus replied as he watched Hellas from the side of the ship. He placed both of his hands behind his back, grabbing your wrist in the other hand. His brawny chest puffed out just slightly as he took a more formal pose despite his defeat. "Keep your head high. Even in our worst we need to look our best." Lenox stated.

As the sun set behind them with the sight of Hellas coming further away into the horizon, Anubis was on the battlefield counting the losses both sides had incurred, the dead of his forces were gathered into a row lying on white cotton sheets with their eyes shut and two coins placed on them. Their hands were wrapped into one another holding a seal in their palms, one written in Egyptian Hieroglyphs with the Eye of Horus to protect their crossing back to the Duat and eventually Aaru.

"Requiescat in Pace. As the Romans said." Anubis stated solemnly as he walked along the row looking at the dead Jackals under his command. Before his eyes, they disappeared from sights, each of them transformed into a brilliantly bright orbs, they all flew towards the Western horizon of the world where the Realm of the Dead was and disappeared into a cyan colored burst.

"Hellas is liberated, but at what cost?" He muttered to himself as he looked over to see the Roman dead on the battlefield, the men were young warriors, aged around 17 or 18. Some were slightly older in the ranks of Veterans, while others hail from different ethnic groups. When they were living, they kept to themselves, separated and hostile to one another. Now they were dead, all were silence as they fell to equal slumbers.

Walking along with him still was Thoth as he cataloged the various names of the deceased in his book of the dead. He kept making tisking sounds to himself while writing the names down. "Its an awful sight yes, but one that's a natural occurrence during war i'm afraid. Though… Something felt oddly different about this brawl compared to the last. Namely the retreat of the Romans. Or at least one of the formations As i had witnessed." Thoth said in a casual tone as he scribed still recalling one of he legatus retreating his men. An odd sight in the Roman forces, and possibly one to be punishable by death.

"He knows something must be done. Not on the battlefield, but at home. The Romans will not be pleased to see him return with the surviving sons of Roma. They will frown and punish him for it. I can tell." Said Anubis in a cold calculative tone as he stood watch looking to the Western horizon of Hellas. Across the Adriatic Sea, he can see the faint and foggy coast of Italy where the ships of Lenox were heading towards, for now, recovering from their losses and victories is in order. But as for Lenox, he will have to face the consequences of his actions and decisions.

[hr]

Morning came to the fleeing Legion as they heard the sound of Latin words calling "Shores" to their ears. Some of the tired men came to the deck of the ship glad to see the sight of home once again, they were now approaching the homeport of Tarentum of Magna Graecia. Lenox and his second in command could see that the crowds of mothers and wives were standing on the docks crowding the place, eager to see their sons return home from war.

There were also Roman Guards and Praetorians standing to keep the crowds in order as the ships came to port and the crew tossed down their ropes to tie the ships to dock. "All ashore!" Felix shouted as he and his Legions came down from the ship on the rampart, bittered, battered and drained by the defeats.

The Legatus was the first face the Roman Plebs saw as he disappeared into the crowds of Praetorians where his father was seen hugging the general for his survival. "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum." Said Acmeus as he walked behind Lenox down the ship, it was a Latin proverb he spoke, "If you want peace prepare for war." and the driving maxim of Rome since its inception.

It seems Lenox himself agreed with the statement more than he could imagine. He sighed however looking through the various crowds. He himself had no one to come home to. No wife, child, or even a family. The legion was his life now. There was however one disturbing thought caught on his mind. "Correct. Unfortunately peace between ourselves as a whole grows thin. The next likely event is anarchy and lawless outbreaks. That or I am overestimating this. It's still a likelihood bound to happen." Marcus said.

"I think your action would send vibrations into the Senate first and foremost." Said Acmeus as he was walking behind Lenox, as they were heading towards the crowds of Legionaries however, Lenox was surrounded by the Praetorians with the Prefect cuffing his wrists with iron chains and cufflinks.

"My warrant of arrest on you Legatus Julius Marcus Lenox! For crime of sedition, cowardice and betrayal of your legion in battles! How dare you run from the field of battles while the enemies are encroaching the land of Romans?" Crassus declared to Lenox as he stood in front of the general shouting his accusations at the general. Much to Crassus's surprise however, it was Acmeus stepping up to defend his general's name and honor.

"They were feeding!" He cried out. The crowds of Plebians gasped in shock and utter terror as they realized that their sons and husbands were being brought to the battlefield to die enmasse needlessly. "Infamy! Loathful liar! How dare you insist that Roman Legions were feeding the enemies!?" Crassus bellowed out to Acmedus in a verbal battle for dominance of political narrative.

"How dare you sit in your Villa while Roman Legions are led by inept cowards trying to win political leverages? Mothers have lost their sons, wives become widows in minutes thanks to poor commanders like Felix! And yet you insist Marcus Lenox the Honorable is a coward for saving his men from an unwinnable battle? Infamy!" Acmeus shouted back to Crassus causing the Senator to grit his teeth and his face grew red with seething anger.

Marcus sighed and stood still while he gave a dull look back to Acmeus. He shook his head slowly and kept his posture straight. "Forget it Acmeus. At least be the voice of reason while I am gone. He clearly isn't one to back down from an argument even if all odds are against him." Lenox said as he looked over to Crassus with a stern frown. "Only he would know an action such as this goes against our once proud families. Arresting a member of the Julii. That's something that won't end well for any of us." Marcus stated with a stern tone.

"Take him away! Lock him up so the Senate can try him for his crimes!" Crassus ordered to his men as the Praetorians dragged Marcus Lenox away from the dock to be imprisoned in Rome while Acmeus bite his fingers furiously looking at the sight as he looked back at the surviving members of his personal Legion. "Men, we must not let this stand. Sooner or later the Egyptians and their Greek Allies will invade Rome's homeland, count on it, prepare the defenses and most of all dig in around Rome." Said Acmeus as he ordered his legion away from the city of Tarentum and up North, towards the Gladiator city of Capua, the birthplace of Spartacus's rebellion against the wealthy and cruel tyrants that were Roman slave owners.

The news spread throughout Rome faster than a horse's speed as the Eternal City itself erupted into outrages and public debates amongst the populace about the recent arrest of Marcus Lenox. The Legion veterans were also increasingly troubled if not outraged by the arrest as they had known Marcus Lenox to be a wise and reasonable man, a cautious commander in his conquest of the Gaul and Magnus Germania, west of the Rhine.

The landless Legions veterans were seen by Bellona and Vulcan congregating with mobs of Plebs and other downtrodden peasants and workers discussing the recent scandal and the alleged charge of cowardice Lenox face from Crassus. "I served with noble Marcus and never did he leave his men to die on the frontline. He charged with his cavalries to break the enemy lines whenever an opportunity show." Said one Legion while another spoke of his own experience in Germania. "The Barbarians of Germania feared his name as he lay countless ambushes against those cowardly rats and rescue our captured Roman brothers." The conversations went on and on as a mob began to take shape in Rome.

Bellona in the gathered crowd along with Vulcan stood more opposed to the chaos erupting in the streets. Both of them feeling differently about how Marcus Lenox was jailed, and imprisoned. Vulcan crating pitchforks for the fellow crowd of rioters as he simple mashed wood a metal in his hand. "Come on everyone. Don't be shy. They are the sharpest prick in this realm, but just don't point them at yourselves, and yah should be fine." Vulcan said wheil Bellona held her sword in one hand pointing it upwards at a slight angle. "Yah know this isn't right! The one guy you guys got and he's in jail for actually making some kind of darn sense!" Bellona shouted while she turned to the crowd. "Who do we want?" she called out in a chant.

"Lenox! Lenox! Lenox!" Shouted the crowds as the mobs of Plebians began to arm themselves with pitchforks and torches to face the Praetorians Cohorts in the city itself. Things were coming to a head as the city now began to feel the effect of unchecked military adventures and its consequences on the populace living in abject poverty, they were now preparing to face Crassus and the entourage of Praetorians protecting him.


	9. Chapter 8: Vox Populi

News of Roman defeats by this point was often hailed as good news for all outside of Rome, it spread like wildfire, traveling far into the realms of the Norse as the Viking tribes were seen discussing the Roman defeat and their ejection from Hellas by the mighty Jackal Guards and the restoration of various Greek cities and their sovereignties in the region. Viking traders returning from the Mediterranean came bearing Greek potteries and various goods from the exotic Near East of the Known World were seen chatting with the local merchants and various Viking people about the recent events in the Balkans with Roman forces fortifying their lines and prepare for an invasion of Italian peninsula.

Ratatoskr himself was seen hopping on what appeared to be a Pogo stick in the halls of Asgard towards Thor's room as he happily whistling tunes of his favorite Norse minstrel songs. As he reached the massive oval shaped wooden door fitting the stature of the god of thunder, the rodent with drill teeth stopped mid way as he hopped down from the stick and pulled out a rather long wooden pole from his magical pouch, at the end of the pole, it had a white glove tied into a clenched fist. The roden then utilized the stick in a knocking motion on the wooden door and waited for Thor to open it for him knowing that the locks on the door were immensely difficult to open perhaps to prevent Ratatoskr from playing pranks in Thor's room.

As the hectic rodent saw however was the fact that Thor was not currently in the room despite it being locked. Ratatoskr had found however was free range to pull any type of prank on Thor while he was gone. A book shelf just above a wooden desk. Easily to be forged to fall down on a timer to annoy Thor. Or more maliciously he could use the pen ink on Thor's desk to place under his chair so it would slip into a possible bed of spikes. Perhaps wait longer, and simplify it by just putting spike under thor's mattress. He had all the opportunities.

This of course made Ratatoskr grinned deviously, for he had a nasty, awful idea in mind. He first pulled out a saw from his pouch before bringing out a drill along with some construction tools that he probably stole from the dwarves as he began to work on Thor's wooden door. He first began to saw out a portion of the door to create a squirrel size door with door knob and various hinges on it including a new lock made for his own key.

Ratatoskr casually enter Thor's room quite easily without any resistance troubling him. He saw the inside of the room was rife for pranks with Thor's various treasures and spoils from his adventures throughout the Norse's 9 realms from Jotunheim realm of Ice to Niflheim Realm of Mist.

He first grabbed the drinking horn of Thor and poured some soap and bubbles into it before blowing it up from the other end like a regular battle horn. This made bubbles churning and the room was filled with pink bathing bubbles that left the room filled to the brim with salty bubbles ready to pop. "Time to leave! Hehehehehehehe!" The devious squirrel giggled as he leaped off to the ground and scurry out of the room.

He strolled along innocently whistling to himself as he came up towards the doorway down to the basements of Asgard, what peaked his interest was the fact the door was unlocked and someone was clearly going down there judging by the sound of footsteps. He scrambled into the basement and tip toeing down towards the dungeons where Fenrir was being imprisoned. The rodent peek around the stone corner of the twisting cylindrical staircase and saw Hel, the Goddess of the Underworld with her split personalities talking to Fenrir. Much to his horror, she was holding a magic staff in her hand, this one was no ordinary magic staff, it was Sun Wukong's magic staff, and he knew she was going to use it to break Fenrir free.

It seemed the two faced Goddess of the dead had known how to use the staff as well. Fenrir as he looked remained a stoic pose while watching Hel begin to free him. His arms and legs both stretched out, and wrapped in a heavy intwine of hardened chains. Hell however free had all the ways to tell of her intentions with just a single look. She smirked looking towards the indestructible chains around Fenrir. "I heard this thing could break mountains. Crush them into rocks and dust. And seeing as part of these chains is made up of mountain. Thought it might work." Hel said with a devous tone.

She waved the staff in the air flinging it around and twisting it in blurry spins. She then spun in a semi circle and planted the top of the staff onto the chains. Her mana traveled down the rod of the staff and caused it to glow a white color. The mana traveled into the chains being transferred from the staff, and caused the chains to begin jingling and jangling in loud rumbling high pitched rings. It sounds as a million high pitch noises happened at once as the vibration traveled up the chain surrounding Fenrir in the ringing noises.

His canine ears caught the harsh sounds anad sung in pain causing him to growl. The chains all shook his body in painful tremors. He grit his teeth together as his glare at Hel increased thinking he was being constricted. But they all saw the chains ahd snapped and severed perfectly into pieces before raining down metal pieces down onto each of them. However, Fenrir as this happened growled and began swinging his head around enraged. He flexed his stiff muscles making them ache from somany years without movement. He flexed his arm pulling the chains dowardns and close to his body.

More of the chains landed on the ground as he then twisted his entire body spinning in a small circle. His feet stomping on the ground in a foreboding boom. His snarl exposed shi teeth and let hi create a fierce gurgling growl. He then lowered himself down to his four paws and arched his back inwards pointing his chest towards the floor. His head rose up and at that moment allowed a victorious howl travel out of his mouth. Much lower and booming in pitch than a normal wolf as Ratatoskr heard. Much more monstrous, and feral.

"Oh no…" Ratatoskr let out a squeaky high pitched eep as he ran out of the basement zipping with lighting fast speed out towards the open ground to call for help knowing that with Fenrir unleashed, Ragnarok was about to begin. "Help! Everybody run for your lives! Ragnarok has begun!" He cried out to the populace of Asgards as everyone ran for their lives screaming and holding their younglings in their arms as they saw the palace of Odin being ripped apart with Fenrir emerging as a gigantic wolf ravaging the capital city of the Norse bringing down stone structures and statues while rampaging on various shrines and granaries. "Must get to the front! Must get to the front! Must get to front!" Screamed Ratatoskr as he ran out towards the frontier of the Norse world where the Viking warriors were fighting the Romans.

Fenrir however continued his angered awaken march down towards the frontline. At first he started to walk towards his desired path on only his hind digitigrade legs, but then he lowered his back towards the ground in a hunch. He roared then in a loud howl.

"I have not felt this much power in decades! I can feel hunger! I must grow! I must feed!" Fenrir bellowed out. He looked down and saw Ratatoskr scurrying in a flee as he dashed away. "A prey god. That will sustain Fenrir for now." Fenrir said opening his gaping maw. He caught leaved trees and oassacila logs in his mouth as he dashed through the forest. His size now much larger allowing him to grab, chew, and devour trees.

As Ratatoskr ran out to the frontline, the Vikings there were laying siege to a Roman fort along the Rhine with their onagers and ballistas firing fiery projectiles at the fort's wooden wall and watchtowers with the intent to burn down the structure once and for all. The Viking warriors were seen disembarking from their small wooden canoes and charged at the fort with their axes, round shields and swords ready.

The archers stood at a stand off range with their arrows dark as the night, they let loose their hail of dark arrows at the Roman legion manning the scorpion ballistas on the wall, some arrows got caught on the wooden walls, other landed on Roman Legion's neck knocking them down one at a time.

Various Viking warriors were seen pushing ladders and even shield walls of hides soaked in water to protect themselves from Roman ballistas and fire arrows. "Push forward men, reclaim your forefathers homeland!" Odin shouted out, leading his men as he leaped into the air and landed on the ground slamming the tip of his spear on the Roman Legions protecting the courtyard as his Viking warriors charged into the fort from the cracks on the wall. In the midst of battle like this, as the smoke rises from the distant horizon and fire silhouetted the Allfather, has Fenrir found his prey occupied with fighting Roman aggressors.

Fenrir spotting his desired target howled into the air as he dashed forwards. Around him trees and whole structures fell beneath him. As the thunder of the battle continued shaking the groudn beanethesalll of the soldierfeet their war was soon defeated by a monstrous roar created by Fenrir. His galop on the ground left indents of his claws and his paws. Startled vikings shouted and yelled in horror as they quickly saw their fears of the ends of times come. Fenrir held his massive maw open as he leapt into the air. As he soared through the air he held his mouth wide open and targeted for his grandfather Odin.

Odin turned around as the flame burned down the Roman fort, he saw before his remaining eye the Monument of his Sins, Fenrir. He who devours the Allfather and by extension the universe of the Norse pantheon. He stood ready for battle with Fenrir as he gripped his spear in hands, the grey and white beards were tied into knots according to Norse fashion, the Allfather himself was ready to severe ties and the knots in battle to face up to the inevitable, the prophesied Ragnarok. "Fenrir, Son of Loki. Demigod Wolf of the Norse, let us settle this for good as this old man has been waiting too long." Said Odin in a solemn tone while facing Fenrir in the face.

Fenrir bounded around Odin on all 4 of his clawed paws. He circled around the Allfather with raised lips and a fierce growl. His face pointed directly Odin's body as he ran achieving perfect balance with his muscles and achieving a perfectly leveled head. He however stomped his paws into the ground and skidded to a halt while eyeing Odin. "You placed me into prison for many years on a supposed prophecy. And for all of my youth I was tormented by you and your vikings. And only for a prophecy. Something I'm sure you hold close to your heart, but you forgot me, and my siblings… For that. I come to feast on you. God of these soon to be desolate lands." Fenrir said to Odin in a booming voice.

"Then let us end this prophecy Fenrir. Grandson…" The Allfather then leapt into the air with his spear twirling in his hands, he slammed the blade into Fenrir's back from on top of him before being thrown back down into the ground by the massive wolf. Not willing to go out like a coward, Odin then dashed forward at Fenrir's forelegs and swung his spear around to deal out damage at Fenrir as best as he could all the while his warriors struggled to contain Fenrir's fury and wrath with their meager weapons fired at Fenrir's massive body.

"Retreat! Retreat! Run for your lives!" Shinji shouted out from amongst the panicking warriors as they ran back to their staging points to, the Japanese boy ran through the forest like a complete wimpy coward as he tossed down his battle axe next to Gunter the Geats. Even the Danes and Jutes warriors were retreating in drove away from the battleground of the Gods.

Gunter himself looked down at the axe and shook his head while viewing the battle. "Yeah I'm not too keen on being devoured in that mutt's fiery gullet. Men fall back! Oh my great gods!" Gunter shouted as he moved back.

Fenrir however paid no attention to the battle happening just to the side of him, or the fleeing soldiers. His blood lust only craved the flesh of deities. Powerful in it properties. "Grandfather you will nourish me for many years to come. Your flesh fill me with blood lust. This though. Is revenge…" Fenrir rose himself up to both feet and inhaled a deep breath of air. His throat inhaled a massive portion of air while his chest puffed outwards showing his muscular wolf body.

He then breathed out and unleashed a scalding spit of flame that incinerated the stray soldiers closest to him and soaked the ground in a sea of flame that spread out. His neck and head swiveled as the flames flew over Odin's amro and his body. Being a god though it only weakened him. As fenrir lowered himself back towards the ground his hind legs sprung inward, sn leaped outward sending Ferir over to Odin again. This time however as he leaped over to Odin he lashed his claw outwards, and swiped at Odin's spear knocking it out of his way. His other clawed paw swung inwards and dug into Odin's flesh and teared into his armor.

Odin let out a yelp in pain as he he felt Fenrir's teeth dug into his flesh and pierced his body, blood began to drip out from his body as he struggle to break free, only to be gnawed by Fenrir with greater ferocity whose aggression has now reached its zenith as he was able to enjoy himself with a meal of Odin. Before all mortals and deities, Fenrir torn apart Odin, spilling his blood across the land with his bone exposed from their sockets still soaked in blood.

Before Tyr's traumatized eyes, he saw the fearsome wolf that devoured his right arm even as a pup now fulfilling the Ragnarok prophecy to bring forth the end of times. "Nooooo! Ye take me right arm Fenrir! But ye won't take Odin!" Tyr shouted out as he dashed towards Fenrir pushed the wolf away with his sword before flinging the beast into the air and slash the wolf with his blade. But Fenrir was not pleased to see interlopers, his claws seathing with fire and furry as he pounced on Tyr slashing and hacking the Lawgiver and War god of the Norse apart before pouncing away to finish up his meal of Odin.

Fenrir glared at Odin who still alive, but clearly torn to literal shreds. As he made a final approach his head lowered to the ground while his ears pointed backwards each. He stopped for a brief moment before looking at Odin for a brief moment. Seemingly torturing him just by teasing his inevitable fate. Fenrir's lips then all rose up in another snarling scowl before his entire jaw opened up and then climbed over Odin's entire body. His bones cracked and flesh pulverised to mush and Fenrir consumed him. Vengeance fulfilled. And yet his hunger unquenched.

Watching this unfold from afar, Hades, lord of Tartarus, the Greek underworld materialized next to Loki with his scepter of skulls and bones in hands. His hood, shrouded the entirety of his face in the shadow for none would want to see what lies underneath the garment. "And so the prophecy is fulfilled. Partly. At this rate Fenrir will reduce the world to nothing but a wasted rock in the celestial body of the universe." Said Hades as he stroke his chin contemplating the consequences of Fenrir's inevitable rampage that was about to happen sooner than later.

Loki himself however made a sinister grin, and giggles to himself. He rubbed his hands together and bent his back down. "Oh how devilishly devious! That's from my loins! He could do so much more! Which would be bad, but it would be cool to witness before it hits us. I think he could consume the whole universe if his hunger isn't contained!" Loki said as he clapped his hands together. Though a sigh came to him. "Well the biggest news is dad is finally dead. That's for calling my loins and my sperm crazed and insane!"

Hades stroke his chin as he dived into the shadow of the Underworld before slithering towards Fenrir knowing that this was becoming increasingly out of hands. "This must end!" Said Hades as he appeared in front of Fenrir with a black hole summoned, it dragged Fenrir in closer and closer with a grip as powerful as gravity of the Earth itself. Fenrir could see that Hades himself was going to stop the wolf from further rampage as the deity detonated the black hole's epicenter, this threw Fenrir flying over to the edge of the forest, collapsing trees and pines along the way. "It's time for me to end this rampage." The lord of the Underworld declared as he levitated towards Fenrir.

Fenrir however got up onto his feet. As Hades saw hi stand up he could clearly see Fenrir's eyes burning orange with rage. Literal fire came out of Fenrir eyes while he turned around to face Hades. He rested the palms of his hands on the forest floor below him. Of which also slowly burned and formed smoke and raised into the air. He could at least see that Fenrir's pupils moved over to look at him. "You! Who are you who dares face me!? I am Fenrir! Bringer of Ragnarok! And consumer of All!" Fenrir boasted while gazing towards Hades.

"The Lord of Tartarus beckons, time to end your rampage, mutt." Said Hades in a sinister tone as he approached Fenrir with his staff in hand. Fenrir could see Hades's wrist to be rather bony and was covered by a talon like bronze gauntlet to his perhaps hideous deformity. Hades first let out a ghastly ghoulish breath from his mouth with a purple misty cloud dazzled Fenrir's senses, making him holding his nose while his mind scattered by the dangerous stun attack.

Hades then threw an orb of light at Fenrir's chest throwing him away without breaking a sweat, slamming the wolf into the mountains nearby as Hades gripped the chain on Fenrir's chest and yanked it in his bronze gauntlet.

"You have had your walk, now I shall seal your power o bringer of Ragnarok." The God of the Dead uttered ominously as he wielded the chain in his hand sending a series of stinging shocks into Fenrir's body as the Nordic runes on his body glew dimmer as the spell Hades was casting affect him even more adversely.

Fenrir growled and grunted as he felt painful twinges that stung his body. As hades continued to electrocute and suck the energy from Fenrir's body. Fenrir's mouth began to foam and create a bublin foam as if he were rabid. Of course due to how high his body temperature was his foam also boiled and bubbled more. Orange flashes of energy came from his throat as he struggled to break free. His claws swiped outwards and attempting to claw at and into Hades as puffs of smoke began to puff out of his mouth furiously.

Soon, Fenrir was reduced in size from a massive towering monster to a mere werewolf like creature no taller than a grown Viking warrior lying on the ground unconscious with his the chains that bound him now flashing bright again apparently it had imprisoned his strength and his Ragnarok power to prevent him from rising again. "The deed is done Loki. Now, take this boy far away as you please I still have some duties left to attend to. Meet me with the others in the Po Valley when you're ready with Hel, we will have to tie up some loose ends in Rome." Said Hades as he melted away deep into the Underworld once again, like a shadow, he slither away into the dark forest leaving Loki to deal with the unconscious Fenrir.

While Loki was busy with Fenrir, Ratatoskr himself was observing the situation, frightened and horrified by the fact that he didn't warn Odin and Thor in time of the danger of Ragnarok, he craved for evidence and even glory of intercepting it himself behind the scenes, and now he paid for it. Odin was dead, Fenrir contained and Ragnarok's eventuality in question. What was happening? He couldn't answer right away but it was clear to the squirrel that his role in the Norse Pantheon was no longer necessary.

As Ratatoskr saw though Loki rose over the much more weaker Fenrir and grinned with a sinister smile on his face. He placed his hands onto his hips and sighed. "Well well. Well. I think it's time I fixed this now, and make sure I'm not the one to blame for your damned prophecy. I think i know how to fix this part myself." Loki said as he motioned his hands around Fenrir creating a cyan colored energy below the massive sized wolf. Fenrir then spun through the portal while howling in a terrified a way. High pitched agonizing screeches and his arms flailing around. "Go now into your time out forest. For eternity!" Loki commanded while Fenrir slipped away.

"Oh no…" Ratatoskr uttered in dismay seeing his friend in Asgard being thrown into exile in Heimdal knows where, he scurried away from the forest trying to find some place for himself to contemplate his actions and his decisions seeing that he had failed the Norse pantheons greatly now.

[hr]

They marched not with pride but with contempt and hatred for the state, for the neglect of the Plebs and the mud slinging that defiled Roman dignity. They marched, not for victory but vengeance and honour. Their Legion's standards stood high in the middle of the Legionnaires as they traveled North from the Italian Peninsula towards the Heart of the Republic itself, Rome, the Eternal City. The Legion was still strong enough to take on the Praetorians in number but it was not with strength of arms that will yield the city and arrest the Senate's fate, it would be that of the lowest farmers and workers.

Plebs were up in arms in Rome, they marched with pitch forks and torches across the city, from Circus Maximus to the prison of Rome followed by the Legion of Legatus Marcus Lenox. Crowds hurled rotten fruits and slogans at the gates of the Senate, demanding their voices to be heard as the Praetorians stood together, forming a blockade around the senate to keep the angry mobs out.

"The people of Rome demands answer from you all! End the war and end our suffering, release the falsely accused and jail the thieves who took our lands!" One of the men in the crowd cried out towards the Senate building as Senators of the Julii, Brutii and Scipii inside were cowering by the floor of the Senate.

They huddled themselves like sheeps to prepare themselves for the fate that was coming to get them very soon. The Praetorians though they were elite Guards of Rome, their number and ranks were two thin to deter the angry mobs of Rome. Back at the prison, Lenox himself could see through the cell bars the crowds of Roman Plebs banging at the doors while the Praetorians were barricading themselves inside the place to hold back the mobs.

Lenox looked down at the angry mob and sighed. "So much discord in this city now. I don't think any of you are to blame though." Lenox said as he sat down on his bench. He tapped his foot on the ground and frowned. "You had this coming you know Rome. I was the only one keeping you in check, and leading your armies. The voice of the people I wanted to stand for. But then you had to imprison me. I'm enjoying seeing this as much as you enjoy to be lynched shortly." Lenox said in a colder voice.

As Lenox commented the fate of Rome in his cell wearing nothing but a brown tunic for the imprisoned, he heard the banging on the door by the Plebs as they finally broken down the barricades and storm the prison. The mobs overran the guards inside the prison, overtaking one wing at a time as they converged on the holding cell of Lenox and open his cell doors.

Much to his expectations, the crowds were carrying him on their hands out of the prison and towards the Pro-Consul Palace of Rome, along the way he saw his personal Legion guarding the people of Rome and hailing his return from unfair trial. He was soon placed on the grand staircase leading up to the marble stone palace with the Roman Republic flag adorned the front of the palace. His right hand man, Acmeus put a wreath on his head and held up his right arm triumphantly in front of the Roman people.

"Rome! Hear us! We are in crisis!" Acmeus shouted out, boasting with a melodramatic voice that orators were known to have. "To the North, Barbarians marched at our gates seeking to infect Roman culture with their heinous backwardness! To the East and West, pretenders of the Brutii and Scipii seeks to erode the People's power and sabotage the State's bureaucracy! And at our very gates, invaders from Egypt and Carthage, swarm our lands with their elephant riders and their vicious scythed chariots! Give us a true leader! Give us Imperator Marcus Lenox!" The Militarius Laticlavius announced to the Roman population as they cheered him on, apparently approving Lenox himself as the new Emperor of Rome, ending the Republic that had failed them with Oligarchy and the partisan deadlocks in the Senate.

Seeing himself praised almost as a god, and hero of the people he smiled a bit, but not in a smug glorified way. Rather more of a proud way, and a satisfied feeling came over him. He placed his hand behind his back and wrap the fingers of his right hand around his wrist. "That's better then. Now. I think our first order of business is a simple one. Stop the expanse of our territory while we can." Lenox said. It was a shock to many. For many years now Rome's doctrine was focus on expanding and expanding outwards while focusing less on the internal issues. Though by his confident prowess and his solid face he seemed to have a reason for his planning.

The Plebs of Rome were shocked to hear it coming from their newly crowned emperor, they had hoped he was going to turn the tide and reclaim the lost lands of Rome for the glory of the Empire and yet they were being told to cease their expansions in a sudden. The stunned crowds turned to one another muttering and murmuring in fear that their pride had been smashed in a sudden.

"Hear us! Endless wars had plagued our people! Your noble Legionnaires come home from ferocious battles abroad against numerous barbarians, penniless, landless. Wealthy Villa owners took your lands, forced you into slums and put slaves to work on your crops!" Acmeus reminded the people of Rome the source of their miseries as they looked around for a moment before back at their emperor.

"Oh Great Bellona and crafty Vulcan, even with your strengths and divine power, we are on the verge of collapse! Our enemies are numerous and surround us on all sides, they will not negotiate, they will enter our city and burn it to the ground! Prepare yourselves for the siege that will come! Stock up your provisions, get working on the fields and stock up bread loathes! Lands will be redistributed to the peasants and subsidies for workers in the city!" Joe declared proudly to the Public as they cheered their Emperor's decisions despite Lenox didn't make the policies yet, though it was a quick save on Acmeus part to prevent the possible collapse of Imperator Lenox before it even begun.

Lenox himself nodded to Acmeus and sighed out. "Of course. Stock up and fortify whatever remains of this empire still. Hmm." Lenox said while turning back to his Acmeus. "This takes time to think. First the people need to learn how to defend themselves. If and when were invaded we need to focus on the Kemet forces first. You saw how they fought as well. Have our forces gathered to the south where they will enter. Next we need to align our empire and the families. I don't think our supposed brothers are going to enjoy seeing me in power. They will send an executioner for me. Possibly an assassin so my blood won't appear on their hands. Send less forces for the Germanic tribes. Tell them to fall back, and fortify behind the lines we have pushed. It's time to stop expanding, and prepare ourselves for total war. A defensive strategy is needed now, and for us to unify this empire as one whole." Lenox declared.

"Yes Ceaser. At once!" Said Acmeus as he extend his Roman salute with his right hand crossed over his heart and extend outward over Lenox before scrambling to his horse and rode off to send the message to the various Roman Legions remaining in the area as well as Praetorians Cohorts to defend Rome from the incoming invasion of the Germanic tribes in Germania and the invasion from the south by Egypt.

[hr]

Summer was coming to a close, glorious victories have been achieved but not the satisfaction of peace. The Gods cried to men who must fight on. For the Greeks, their war was over with their homeland liberated in one go during the Summer, they felt the time was ripe to go back to harvest in their home cities. But for Anubis, the war was far from over, he sat on a hill top of Apollonia, overwatching the harbor where ships of the Egyptian Navy were assembling to haul his army across the body of water.

Over the Adriatic, he saw the sight of Tarentum, the land of Tarantines on the Italian Peninsula. Once known as Magna Graecia, an extension of Greek colonies in the Central Mediterranean, now a Roman city belongs to the Brutii as they watched out for invasion forces. He sat there and observe the preparations, for Aphrodite, to see Anubis continue fighting despite the liberation of Hellas was disheartening, but strangely enough, for her, the Goddess of Love, she had always been attracted to warlike deities. Ares himself was once her prize lover, now Anubis was no differences. At the beaches where the ships were being assembled, Makedonians were seen camping preparing to embark on expeditions, no doubt to reclaim the title Hegemon of Hellas.

Thessalonian horsemen went about tending to their rides and Sarissa spears while Phalangites such as the elite Silver Shield, Pezhetairoi and conventional Phalangites were seen taking turns with guarding the camps of both the Jackal Guards and Makedonians. Behind Anubis was Ramiel, resting on the hill with his master, neither of them knew who was going to meet them next in their moment of thoughts and tranquility.

As the two were resting as master and steed on the hill Anubis smelled oddly sweet aroma behind him. Like fragrant perfume, or flowers. That and a brisk warm wind wafted over him like an odd comforting gesture to him. He then felt his ears pick up the sound of gentle and musical humming behind himself. It led him to the conclusion his lover was there to meet him. Looking behind him he saw Aphrodite in an elaborate gown of a brilliante white coloration. After the liberation of Hellas she looked to be in good shape again. Despite the death of Zeus she carried herself in a proud stride walking slowly towards Anubis. "Noobi! Hey! Yoo-Hoo!" Aphrodite chimed calling to him.

Anubis turned his head around to see her with a slight smile on his muzzle as he stood up from where he was sitting and held her arms in his. "Aphrodite, it's good to see you again. I did what I promised, liberate Hellas and your home with it." Said Anubis as he hugged her in making a soft canine whimper as he held her close and tightly. His horse Ramiel however was less than amused by this as it let out disgusted whirring sounds. Despite the expression less face, the twitching of its ears could tell observant eyes the horse's opinions.

Aphrodite however could tell Ramiel was looking and eyeing her in a less than pleased way. She opened one eye and glared at the horse while hugging Anubis, and huffed out. Her right eye flashed a pink color that seemed to make Ramiel more confused than before, and shortly after that made him more fond of her outfit. It suddenly seems more appealing. Just another trick the goddess had. "Hm. So you have. It's good to have home back. And you as well. You made sure to beat Ares right? I Really hope so since I want him to know I and the rest of Greece aren't up for the taking. Me since I'm already taken with you dear." Aphrodite spoke.

Anubis made a chuckle at her before licking her cheek with his canine tongue before slipping the tongue into her mouth making a French kiss with her as he hugged her in tightly. Aroused by the Goddess charms befitting the Goddess of love, lust and womanhood. "I'll make sure that when Ares returns, he'll have to answer for his aggressions." Said Anubis as he continued kissing Aphrodite's lips before letting her go. A short bliss even for their standards but enough to let her know he was busy with finishing the war in mind. "It's not over yet, not by a long shot. I still have to yield Rome so it won't invade Hellas again." Said Anubis to Aphrodite as he held her face by her cheeks with both paws.

She smiled, and made a lustful sigh hearing Anubis's determination to do some good for the better of the Mediterranean region. As he held her cheeks she rubbed his hands with her smooth and soft hands in slow gentle strokes. "Please. But not so aggressive. Or else you might end up like him. Addicted to war and causing a fight. I know. I know. I have so far only dated war lord, but you guys are awfully handsome. Before you turn bitter. Plus." She leaned in to Anubis's ear and smirked. "You might be edgy, and war like as the rest, but you're at least doing us all a favor and ending the wars. Plus I haven't seen many Gods actually start their own army before. Even if you are a god for the dead creepy guys." Aphrodite said.

"I guess dead creepy is the new trend for the fall." Anubis jokingly stated before kissing her lips again. He mounted on Ramiel's back and began to rode down the hill towards the encampment of the Jackal Guards, he saw Horus and Sekhmet were practicing their swords with Horus holding a short stabbing sword of Egypt, a blade made of gold with a hilt sporting his head effigy. Sekhmet herself was using her a fan like cleaver halberd which had the blade and hilt made of gold with sapphire emeralds decorating the blade's holder.

She swung the blade side to side like a horizontal pendulum to slash Horus as the prince himself made hopping maneuvers back away from Sekhmet to avoid her blade as he held his sword in hand waiting for her to make her last swing before jumping up and landing a talon kick on her chest.

This knock Sekhmet back away from Horus as the falcon deity landed on the ground holding his sword as if to tease her. "Not even needing this! Impress yet o She who mauls?" Horus taunted her name as he stood cockily in place. "You let yourself expose to a cat, bird boy." Said Sekhmet as she pounced on Horus holding him down by his neck with her cleaver's hilt pinning him to the ground. "It's a good thing that I have no intentions of making you my dinner, let alone lunch bird boy." Said Sekhmet in a threatening tone as she then stood up to let him go after their sparring match. "Officer meeting, the invasion of Italy needs some planning and logistics." Said Anubis to them as he entered the command tent of the camp.

Inside of the command tent Thoth was at the table reading his book and surveying any new events that would have popped up in the realm. However, his attention was brought ot Anubis first as he saw the commander of the newer grave made army walk into the tent. Thoth closed his book and sat at attention. "So we are one step closer to Rome's heart. This is both good, and yet troublesome news. A conflict bound for a major trial we need to face." Thoth said.

"True. Not to mention how we'll handle the fallout of the situation. So there won't be any new wars coming from the Romans." Said Anubis as he stretched his arms out and cracked his bones, popping his spines as Horus and Sekhmet enter the tent before finally the Pharaoh himself, Ra to attend Anubis's battle plan as the situation was branching off into multiple directions at the same time. "Alright then, the Greeks are becoming lazy this time of year, Autumn is coming so they will be leaving for the harvest of the crops at home. Summer, harvest, war. So we'll have to fight with our own Egyptian Army and Navy against the Romans." Said Anubis as he pointed to the map detailing the invasion plan that was about to take place.

It was table containing landmass references to the Italian Peninsula and the Adriatic Sea and to the Northern edge, the Po Valley where Celtic tribes once inhabited the place before being conquered and some displaced by Roman conquests of the Julii. "This will be a two prongs invasion of both land and sea. The land forces under my command will land at Tarentum to take the city there, the other contingent, the Carthaginian will be leading an invasion from Sicily Island to take Croton before we'll rendezvous to take Capua. The Naval forces consisting of Egyptian Marines and Egyptian Army the Navy transport will land behind Capua to cut the city off from reinforcements and we'll box them in before recover for an attack on Rome." Anubis placed various army and navy pieces on the boards show casing his attack plan to Ra and Thoth for the invasion of Roman's heartland of Latinum. The attack prong by Anubis on the ground apparently was going to ride along with Carthage to take Capua, Neapolis and the Southern areas of Magna Graecia to cut Rome off of the bread basket.

"Okay so we starve the bastards first. No breads for their circuses I'm afraid. Oh no wait no I'm not. If this works then I'll be pleased thrilled to starve each family they have." Ra said with a biased for each of the families of Rome. he looked to the plan made by Anubis feeling so far it was solid. Even clever despite the lack of the Greek support. Though Ra thought there was someone else to support them as he looked up to the Viking territory. "So I take it they might act as a third prong for us? I'm anxious to see if these Norse are really as bear hearted as people say. I haven't had much glimpse of their people aside from Thor. Who owes me a sum for the broken ceilings he's caused." Ra stated.

"Yes your excellency, the Norse will be our third prong from the North. During the invasion of Hellas they raided Roman forts along the Rhine to probe their defenses. I believe they will be driving the Romans out of Magnus Germania down into the Po Valley. However I have yet to receive words from them. We'll have to launch our invasion soon however to give the Romans no time to reinforce." Said Anubis as he placed the army under his command on the Tarentum region of the map to denote his invasion's objectives and the place an arrow up towards Neapolis, the vine garden of Roman wines that Bacchus love so much.

However the plan's tactical situation was a different story altogether as Anhur stepped up and observe the Roman cities listed by Anubis to be quite heavily fortified, the lion knew that the Romans were skilled engineers and had no doubt fortified the city with epic stone walls and ballista towers to cut down the invasion force.

"Anubis, the plan is solid but we'll need to make sure that we can take the cities in time. Speed is of the essence as our armies are much slower and less flexible than Roman Legions. Laying siege and simply starve the enemies out will take months all the while they could amass reinforcements to counter attack." Said Anhur with a concerned tone as he pointed Anubis to the stone walls of the cities on the map, all of them had high ballista towers to fire large arrows and fire arrows that can tear through formations and inflict massive casualties, both direct and indirect.

"We could try constructing large magnifying glass to counter these. Thoth do we have such technologies?" Ra asked. Thoth himself shook his head slowly, but found the plan to be less practical than Ra would have planned. "Uh. No. I see what you mean, but that would require a numerous amount of glass, and be only practical to amplify your own attacks. Which I can do with the glyph. We would need some way to concentrate a massive amount of sunlight into the direction of the ballistas anyways." Thoth stayed causing Ra to nod his head and squint his eyes in thought. "What about… No that don't work. We should have rally beefed our military beforehand." Ra said.

Thoth sighed and looked back to Anubis. "As an Archer i think if we plan ahead and somehow sneak a team of highly trained archers to somehow destroy the ballasts using flame arrows. That or simply take out the soldiers who are operating the Ballasts. Without trained forces behind those massive weapons they would be useless." Thoth said.

"Or a great trick of theatrical display." Said Anubis in a surprisingly witty tone as he garnered the attention of Sekhmet who raised her eyebrow at him in a skeptical manner hearing his apparent idea to be unorthodox. "What kind of magic show are you planning to show them? Surely you can't be that ludicrous?" The lioness scorned him for his notion before Anubis held up his paw to stay her tongue before clearing his throat and rolled out what appeared to be design plans for a weapon, a siege engine so massive and incomprehensibly complex it would be impossible to construct and use as a practical siege engine against enemy cities.

Its base was like that of a pyramid with sloping front made from woods and coated in wet hides to protect it from fire arrows. The base structure had four wheels to move the engine forward and back. Around it were wooden frames that held a massive battering ram with its tip shaped in a ram head made from iron to punch through stone walls. At the top it appeared it had an observation tower to coordinate the engine while the middle part was the control room to use the battering ram with ropes tied to various wooden cranks to control the ram charging. Not only that, but the control room had a trio of ballistas to fire arrows at the defenders, acting as a defense turret for the siege engine. "The Tortoise Ram of Hegetor." Said Anubis as he presented to them the siege engine design.

"ITS BRILLIANT!" Ra shouted abruptly viewing the massive battering ram. It wasn't quite something he had seen before, but the design of it showed Anubis had some respect for his heritage, and pride for his own empire. Pride that Ra showed seeing the pyramid design matched with a solid forceful object that would smash his enemies to pieces. "Look at it! It's so simple yet so rigid! We have been designing pyramids for many years! When they see this they'll immediately think of us. They may laugh, but when it crashes their wall into pieces they will soon forget." Ra said in a preach while Thoth looked to him more concerned. "Yes it's quite magnificent of home, but you seems to be over excited since its one function is to"; "cripple their foundations with the style we came up with!" Ra said interrupting Thoth's cautionary voice.

"Transporting this by boat won't be possible though. I might need Khepri to ferry it over the sea for us since we can't dismantle it and reassemble it in time let alone keep the boats float while we ferry the weapon." Said Anubis while Horus himself rub his eyes out of astonishment seeing his brother had come up with something so deadly in so little time. It was incredible, but one look at the name, Hegetor, Horus knew full well where did Anubis get the design and perhaps some engines still intact to use. Horus nodded to Anubis and gave his brother a thumbs up at the idea finding that indeed a trick like this would be more than sufficient to rattle Roman defenders out of their stone walls.

[hr]

Settling in as emperor would have to wait for Lenox, for the time being, his palace was absence of festivities and musics, instead, the palace was busy with various statesmen, senators and various generals going back and forth fetching military planning and other state matters that need urgent attention to. Lenox himself was now in a war room where a massive map of the world was presented to him with various regions marked in Roman names and the territories under Roman control had shrunk greatly.

The Gauls remain in firm Julii control, acting as a buffer zone between Rome and Magnus Germania, the fertile land there would also act as Rome's secondary bread basket, a strategic target it can't afford to lose. But Germania itself was falling from Roman's hands as legions abandon their forts to regroup in the Gauls and the Italian Peninsula. The province of Illyria over the Adriatic Sea was still in the Brutii's hands along with their strongholds of Tarentum and Croton while the Brutii now hold Rome along with their other cities to the North.

Acmeus was drawing up battle plans with a board like table showing a series of defensive lines from Capua back to Rome showing that it was going to be a tactical retreat plan. "Ave Caesar. We do not have the proper forces to fight a determine pitch battle against the enemies. We will have to fight a series of retreating battles to conserve our forces and buy time for our armies to regroup in Rome and fight off the enemies in a determined pitch battle." Said Acmeus as he pointed to Lenox the troops disposition they had which were mainly battered and destroyed Legions haphazardly reassembled and salvaged into a new Legion named Legio XIX Italia.

"Understandable. Our gracious emperor's truly have bitten more than they can possibly chew. I hope the people are aware we still are fighting, and we are not truly defeated." Lenox said as he leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms over his chest though and looked over to the German territory. "I'm concerned for that though. The land is fertile, and I know just how much our empire uses it. I doubt we will hold the primary resources, but its a loss until we can push our rivals back into their own territory. I hope you know i have no intention of reclaiming anything i will deem unnecessary land." Lenox said in stern voice. Another thought came to his mind however as he looked back up to Acmeus. "And what of the families? We won't be able to hold much if they are still in personal feuds. And I know a major one biting them is me in power." Lenox said.

"For now the families we'll hold in Rome and standard protections. The Julii, ours, have pledged full support for you and help with Civic policies and defend the Gauls with superior Administration. The Scipii and Brutii however are adamant with getting rid of you. So we have them imprisoned before they can hatch any conspiracies. Crassus is missing however, I believe he's gathering support and probably found common cause with the Scipii. Swing voters they're not anymore." Said Acmeus with a sigh knowing that their No.1 rival was missing from Rome and he could be anywhere right now, anywhere outside of Italia.

Lenox raised himself up, and felt a serious weight fall onto his shoulders. He looked down with more anxious frown now as he thought heavily. "So he abandoned his post when his empire and his regime needed him the most? Then is there anything stopping us from swinging the Scipii and Brutii followers to our favors? This would appear to be a more optimal time for us to unify once again." Lenox said.

"Yes your majesty. You see the followers of the Brutii, demographic wise, are wealthy landowners with large stretches of land under their grips worked by slave labors. The Scipii are mostly Veteran Legionaries and some segments of the urban workers. Hence we will need to optimize appealing first to the Plebeian peasants and the Urban workers. I suggest we first expand subsidize for the Urban dwellers, provide free housing for the populace with various reform apartment blocks. As for peasants, we'll have to take away lands from the landowners and redistribute them to the peasants to work on. We'll also need to make sure the landowners are not displeased too much by enacting some laws to limit the amount of lands they can have." Said Acmeus as he drew up a hastily concocted social plan to appeal to as many groups as possible.

Seeing the hastily drawn plan he frowned again viewing the chances of a total unification slim due to the many factors surrounding the many lands and families of Rome. The one thing he could easily work with however were both the veterans and the plebeians. "Well the Scipii may enjoy some form of support for their service. I'm not sure quite yet to repay them. Land would be an empty promise. If we lose our first resource pool then food would be another issue. For now those who are already working classes with something. The infrastructure of this empire is poor. We can supply them job for producing housing. Of which will create more work flow. High density residential homes. It won't be much land, but they will have a place over their heads to rest. Landowners though will keep the land they have gathered. Future land owners will have to be limited however if we could take an average estimate on how much land the average owner owns we can use that as our base once laws are enacted." Lenox said with careful planning. He looked back to Acmeus, and smirked. "Oh. and one more change. I recommend people stop addressing me as majesty. It sounds too tyrannical, and its sounds off. maybe? Something easier." Lenox said.

Perplexed by the new address manner Lenox suggested, Acmeus stroke his chin finding it odd for a title such as President, which came out of nowhere might come off as strange to most Romans even Bellona herself. Alas, as loyal right hand man of Lenox the newly appointed Legatus nodded to the Emperor. "Of course Mr...uh...President. I'll see to enacting the most critical changes first in our legal works." Said Acmeus as he then scramble off to relay the various directives regarding the legal framework of Rome. The stage was set but how will a plan hold true to expectations remains to be seen.


	10. Chapter 9: Veni, Vidi, Vici

As the navy moved about patrolling the shores of the Adriatic Sea, Anubis was on dry land observing the construction of a massive siege engine just a mile away from his encampment. Before his very eyes thousands of trained workers and craftsmen were seen laboring on the massive siege engine's base, which was shaped like a pyramid with the front being covered in wet hide and sandbags.

Wooden I-beams were mounted on the sides to form a frame to haul the battering ram. Its appearance was impressive and over the top and obviously meant to be intimidating to the enemies. "This has better be worth it." He muttered to himself as he watched the battering ram being lifted up by a pair of cranes and being mounted on the I-beams using ropes to have the ram swinging back and forth.

"So brother how's the secret weapon going?" Horus asked as the prince came up next to Anubis looking at the weapon that was being constructed. It had been two weeks of wait and emergency construction so they had become rather anxious to finish the war. "As planned. For now, I certainly hope this weapon will break their morale before it break their walls. Minimizing casualties and damages." Said Anubis as he kept his hands crossed behind his back.

Observing the construction of the siege device was Ra. Ra himself laid down on his back on a pillowed lounging cainr while various servants wafted him with fan palm branches. The breeze hit his body gently while he surveyed the construction. "Phew this is difficult work. So how much longer until this device is crushing our Roman adversaries, and we can bathe in total victory?" Ra asked. He held his hand out for one of his servants to give him another drink while he lounged.

"In my calculation, two days then I'll need Khepri to transport it over sea without breaking it down into pieces for lengthy reassembly." Said Anubis as he twist and rubbed his wrists looking at the massive siege engine before him that can smash through stone walls. "Also Ra, when we get to Rome, do not eat any of its crops. Their food supply is poisoned by someone. We'll have to bring some more bread from Egypt to Rome and up the logistic ante." Anubis stated to Ra with a stern and serious tone apparently the matter of poisoned food the Romans had was still fresh in his mind.

"I'll stick to bird seed for now. Eugh…" Ra moaned while rubbing his stomach. Having the knowledge of the Roman crops fresh in his mind. It upset his stomach a slight amount causing some discomfort while images flooded his mind thinking on the poisoned crops. "Less poisoned and more like a plague hit them. Divine by the looks to me. What kind of poison make a parasite in the BOWELS of humans?" Ra said as he looked over to Khepri. Khepri himself knowing his day was soon coming was seen nearby flapping and spreading his wings out creating a loud windy buzzing noise flexing his insect muscles.

"I said poison for it might have been foul play by someone, a deity perhaps. But for now my suspicion will have to be reserved for certain targets." Said Anubis as he began to head back to the camp of the Jackal Guards, which at this point was being lifted out of Apollonia to board the ships waiting to haul them over the sea towards the coast of the Italian Peninsula. The jackals board the ships one by one using scaling nets that the vessels packed with them, the warriors were soon onboard the decks of the ships along with Anubis and Horus. "We'll move first to establish a beachhead, considering the distance it will take us just a few hours tops to take the coast line around Tarentum." Said Anubis as he sheathed his Xiphos sword and stood on the bowl of the ship observing the sight of the Adriatic before him.

Next to him was Horus with Anhur and Sekhmet on other vessels, the fleet began to sail out into the sea with their sails released from the secured straps of the mast to catch the winds. "Good luck to you all, warriors of Kemet." Said Poseidon from a nearby hill as he sat and watch the Egyptian fleet moving out from the coast of Apollonia heading West. On the flagship of Anubis, the Egyptian Strategos had his arms crossed while looking at the shores in the distant slowly coming into view.

Standing with Anubis on the ship was Thoth who saw the incoming land ahead as they approached. He felt his feathers stand up on end feeling a chill come over him while the ships entered the outskirts of true Roman territory. The true part of the empire. He held his book open in hand and began to pray in native Egyptian while the ships made approach. Quickly battle was approaching for the Egyptian forces.

As expected, they soon encountered the Roman fleet or what's left of it sailing around the port of Tarentum, the vessels were heading out to face the Egyptians head on in battles with Roman Marines and various supporting vessels, each armed with a small ballista on the bowl to fire arrows and javelins at the hull of the Egyptian Navy's ships. "Brace yourself! Ramming speed!" The captain shouted out as the ship began to pick up its pace, the oarsmen underneath began to ram into one another violently. The ships were equipped with bronze rams on the bowl of the ships to make piercing the hulls easier.

Some Egyptian ships were even equipped with fire pots mounted on the side of their vessels, when they grazed the Roman ships, the pots were shattered against the ship's bowls and the archers onboard fired their flaming arrows at the substance that was laced on the wooden hull of the ship, igniting the flame that began to burn the Roman fleet. Other ships were met with Roman boarding crew as the Roman marines swung a ladder over to the deck of the Egyptian ships, their archers exchanged fire with the Egyptian counterparts while the Marines themselves ran along the course way to board Egyptian ships and face off with Anhur or Sekhmet's Karian axemen.

As the Roman soldier boarded they were of course met with more resistance of the native Egyptian soldiers. However, as they came aboard Anubis's own ship they were met with Thoth's magic and wisdom to out play their own brute force. Thoth made a sliding dash backwards before he could be overrun completely by the invading Romans. Quickly his finger swipe the pages of his open book gathering some mana and magic before he flung them outwards as bolts of cyan colored energy. It was powerful enough to strike the Roman soldiers to the pint they felt a burning sensation pierce their armors. Not only that they felt a heavy feeling hit their heads as if being judged by a crowd of spectators. Just one of Thoth's abilities being a deity of judgment as well as wisdom.

"Let the eternal darkness embrace you!" Anubis snarled and opened a portal under the feet of the Roman Marines on a nearby ship as he slashed the neck of a Roman Centurion, carving out his throat and splattering his blood over the deck and on some of the nearby Romans. He then kicked the Roman Marines by his crotch, taking advantage of while the warrior was being caught off guard, he stabbed the marine with his sword burying deep into the head cavity of the Roman Marine. "Ramming speed!" The captain shouted out again as the ship rammed into another Roman Hexaremes, smashing the flagship of the Roman fleet into two, this left the Romans completely heartbroken as they began to ran away further north to avoid the Egyptian fleet.

Seeing the Roman forces retreating already Thoth rose a his hand upwards high above his crowded head. The palm of his hand gathered and accumulated a glowing orb in the current of his grip, and finally Thoth released a beam of cyan colored magic onto the fleeing ships much like a laser ray. The magical ray hit the lower portions of the ships near the water causing them to split apart and gather water as liquid soaked into the hulls of the ships. "Once again this proved to be rather easy on our parts Anubis. But i'm afraid their destiny now lays at the bottoms of the sea." Thoth said as he unleashed his own fury.

"I doubt it will be easy when we meet the Roman deities. We'll have to see what would they do to us." Said Anubis as the fleet came to the shores of Tarentum, the ship ran ashore with the nets tossed down for the warriors aboard to disembark. They began to wade ashore with their weapons and armor laden them down while the waves wash them ashore one at a time. The men took sometimes to form up into proper battle formations as they guarded the beachhead from the possible counter attacks by the Roman Legions that might be around the place.

Once the landing commenced Thoth vaulted off of the ship he sailed on. Unlike the others being a deity once he hit the water his feet simply hit the surface of the water, and actually stood on the surface. It showed him out of all of the other soldiers he and the other deities were the divine power of the war. He ran across the surface of the water striding over it ulti he himself made landfall with the massive Egyptian army gathered. "Alright now it's time to show our proud heritage. I'll be watching over each of you as you charge. Make haste into battle allies!" Thoth spoke in a raised voice.

"Lay siege to their hovels!" Anubis ordered to his warriors as the army began to march out with battle horns blew to coordinate the movements of the Jackal Guards and the regular Egyptian Army to flank Tarentum to the North. As they marched out, they soon came into view of the Appian Road, where rows of crucifixes lined the road, with slaves stripped of their clothes and lives, they were left to be rotting skeletons or carcasses with the carrion birds fattening themselves on the meals of these dead slaves. "Servile War legacy...so this is what civilization look like." Said Anubis in a sarcastic tone as he marched across the road reaching what appeared to be Crassus's Roman Villa with various crops being worked on by slaves growing thinner and thinner by the labors.

It was a truly disgusting sight to behold. Despite the Egyptians themselves having slaves they were at least treated near equal in society, and Thoth knew this. The most work the slaves were to have received were meager house type of chores or maid work, but most of the society was self sufficient. Never cruel either as the slaves were required to be of good health.

This however looked like torture, or a dystopian society. It disturbed Thoth to the deepest parts of his mind as this was both inhumane and cruel. No human deserved to be displayed as such as he thought. And none were to be used just as a warning sign to others. The powerful image of the crucifix though was enough to impact Thoth, but looking towards the city, and its starving slaves it was enough to convince him the ROman society was truly a derelict. One that needed some type of massive reform.

He shook his head and looked to Anubis disgusted by the sight and made a grimace clearly shown on his face. "What did we just stumbled into?... This wasn't what i was expecting from them. I was expecting something better. At least a healthy society. This region of the world looks like the apocalypse has hit, and left no mercy on the citizens here. This empire so far looks like its… its dying. No. Its deceased already. I'm quite sure of it." Thoth stated in a solemn tone. He looked back to the crucifixes and the slaves again with his own judgment in mind. "And what could these people have done to deserve such life? I'm unable to even provide assistance to many hung. If they are even brought down shock will hit their crippled bodies. A painful death." Thoth said in a glum tone.

Anubis was seen making a hiss and even snarl at the sight seeing the excessive punishments handed out to the slaves of Rome, he looked at them and saw that the skeletons were rotting, apparently for decades now with some being merely skeletons while the sky seemingly turned grey in a depressing atmosphere.

"This is Rome…" Said Anubis with spiteful tone as he walked along the Appian Road, his army came to the villa of Crassus where the slaves tossed down their weapons and bowed down before the Jackal Guards asking for mercy. One by one, they were heard whispering prayers in various languages, some spoke in Punic languages while others in Germanic or Celtic Gaul languages. "Their love for conquest, matches with lunacy of a blade in hands." Anubis stated coldly as his army encircled the city of Tarentum to cut it off from reinforcements from up north, as the Egyptian Army and Navy moved around the souther tips of the Italian peninsula, a Roman scout rode North towards Rome to bear the news.

[hr]

Back in Rome, the situation was Martial Law to simply put it, as Janus levitated across the city, his face switched back and forth between the elder and lesser faces. He was like a suit of armor levitating across the city seeing the war weary faces of the citizens of Rome now have to live under the peril of an enemy armor who won't negotiate and will destroy them all if given a chance. Some of them were heard grumbling about the faults of the Senate and the Brutii in particular with driving them into war that they can't escape from. Janus came towards the ever busy temple of Bellona where the priests were busy trying to confide with her on matters of the state and the situation that was deteriorating.

Bellona currently held both sides of her head while sitting down feeling a headache tear into her head while the state of the Roman empire erupted into almost literal flames. However, the attack Anubis and the other deities made didn't go without her feeling her warriors cut down. She rubbed both of the temples of her head trying to soothe her own headache. "Oh if only we had a medical themed deity in this damn pantheon. I could really use some stress relief…" Bellona complained as Janus strolled up to her. She saw him approaching and rose her head to face him.

She stood up promptly upon seeing him approach while waving her hands to both sides of the various priests so she could have a personal conversation. "You! Janus! Tell me something that will get this friggin' headache away! Something happened to the south, and since then I can't get a break! Oh and something else happened with the Julii as well, but I… Can't think straight…" Bellona complained.

"Peace is coming Bellona. Sine pace Imperii. Rome will not hold onto its gains through conquests but rather gains by inheritance of Latinum." Said Janus in a stoic and steady tone to Bellona. But at that moment the two of them were disturbed and intruded on by the chubby and ever joyful Bacchus. Or rather was ever joyful as he now came into the temple an emotional wreck weeping and begging by her feet. "Oh infamy Bellona! Infamy! Someone has it in for me! My one true love, wine, poisoned and desecrated in Neapolis not by Egyptians but by someone else!" He cried out in a high pitched voice before collapsing to the ground in a fetal position.

This was a strange sight to see even for Bellona sine as far as she knew the drunken Bacchus was always jovial and flamboyant. Seeing him crawl up in a state of distress was not part of his usual self, and in fact was a reason for Bellona to draw concern. "Not the Egyptians? And woah. Hold up. You're kind of booze, and wine. And the harvest." Bellona said staring back at Janus. She tilted the side of her head back at Bacchus in a confused gesture as she looked to Janus for wisdom. "What's the deal Janny? He's crying tears probably made of wine on these floors. That's not good at all for any of us." Bellona stated.

"Indeed…" Janus mused on the sight as he looked down at Bacchus's fetal form as the crying deity of wine and harvest struggle to hold back his tears from the cruel act of sabotage that had occured at his cult center. "Who could have done this Bacchus? This transgression against your precious harvest would come to pass but surely you might have an idea of who, right?" Janus asked Bacchus calmly as he gently placed his hand on the shoulder of the crying deity. The chubby and flabby flamboyant God then stood up wiping his tears away to the Janus and Bellona. "It's terrible! I saw my grape crops around Neapolis all torn and withered. And underneath the earth from which they grow, lay a savage golden apple!" Bacchus sobbed as he recount the finding.

The picture of a bright gleaming apple came into Bellona's mind. An odd thought of how something so magnificent and rich could cause so much harm, but a sure thought came to her looking back down to Bacchus. "Uh. A golden apple? If you can pick yourself up can you show us? It feel like someone is taunting us right now." Bellona said as she balled up her right hand into a fist and pounded it into the palm of her left hand. "And I don't much like being played like this… I gotta see this, and get my own investigation thing going. right? " She asked looking towards Janus.

Janus nodded to her as his youthful face swiveled and replaced by the elder version as he spoke out to her in an older and more commanding voice. "Take the Legion with you Bellona, your enemies may not show the courtesy of chivalry as our Legions have shown none." Bacchus in the meantime pulled out a meatloaf he had carried with him in his toga and began to munch on it, apparently as a way to cope with sadness and depression that he was going through. "I shall go with you Lady Bellona! For my wine beckons me to salvage it and Romans beckon me to salvage their greatest treasure!" The God sobbed out a bit more before exiting the temple with Janus to let Bellona plan out her strategies.

The situation to the south was not looking good as it seems like the Egyptians and Carthaginian armies were marching through Roman territories like a hot knife through butters. Roman navy have been decimated and defunct leaving the Army to fend off the invasion using the terrains of the Italian peninsula to protect them with. Croton and Tarentum, strongholds of the Brutii have fallen, leaving their Balkan holdings to cling on to what's left of their Optimates. While then the Roman Legions were retreating and salvaging their formations in a defensive line North of Neapolis preparing themselves for the imminent advance into Rome.

As they advanced deeper into Roman territory there wasn't much in the way of a proper defensive line. In fact as the Roman Legions retreated the territory the Romans had conquered prior to the Egyptian invasion had shrunk retreating with the legions. The last bastion for the Romans now was beginning to turn into many of the families leaders dreaded legatus Lenox as he commanded his final stand. Though he himself wasn't the most confident by now. He set up his prime defensises targeted towards the south ordering the remnants of his army to form up, but with a clear order to retreat should the task proved to be more demanding. He himself wrote in a diary inscribing what could have been his last entries knowing Rome deserved no mercy due to the savageness they enacted on others. Something he was ashamed to admit of his own people, but a fact he faced.

The army of Egypt that Thoth accompanies now had grown in number to a sizeable force of 45000 men including 18,000 Greeks in Egypt and Greeks in oversea colonies. As they advanced towards Rome through the highway of the Appian Road littered with crucifixes and slaves left to die as a warning to future rebellions, they saw the plight of Roman Plebeians who had to pay the price of war, their sons and fathers never to be seen again with no shreds of evidence except for word of mouth passing from one person to another.

Behind them were the Carthaginian forces, Hoplites and war elephants eager to lay waste to their Roman oppressors. Anubis positioned Sekhmet to the rear to keep the eager and highly motivated Carthaginian hoplites in line and discipline to prevent needless pillaging and plundering. He however was at the front of the Army with Horus and Ra while Thoth and Anhur were in the mid section to lead a large force moving through hostile territories.

They soon caught the sight of Neapolis, the port city that was also the wine production center of Rome. There Anubis's sensitive nose sniffed the air, feeling the foul stench of rotten fruits coming from the farms and crops around town. The Strategos jackal panned his head around to observe the area from a hill his detachment took position on and found a city reeling from a sudden harvest failure, some of the peasants fleeing from invading armies were seen in the distance kicking up dust as refugees left the city's wall heading North to Rome.

"Foul play indeed...we'll have to do something about this. An unstable Rome will breed contempt for us in the future." Said Anubis to Horus. The avian prince glanced over at his brother and stroke his chin curiously while standing next to Ramiel. "But brother, would it be exceedingly satisfying for us to destroy our enemies and rejoice in the lament of their women?" Asked the falcon prince. "No. They will breed hatred with the seeds we sow, then they will take the war to us from the same diligent we show here today. Better not give them that excuse." Anubis replied sternly as he sighed out at the sight of war time tragedies that was playing out before him.

Thoth himself cringed slightly listening to Horus's more perverse word choice knowing him to be young, and rather quick to come to decisions. Thoth himself could smell the air and get a scent of the dreadful air. Not as well and the canine nose of Anubis, but a sure smell to take despite lacking what Anubis possessed. "Y-yes. Aside from which… Vengeance such as that will not turn well for us in the longer run. It's best we finish this conflict we so are engaged in and leave it at that. No more, and no less." Thoth said while trying not to gag.

Ra however was less an expert with keeping his words down. "Bah! And their women are all disease ridden as well. Good grief the air here is ripe with this ghastly scent. I sure hope your soldiers here aren't equipped with that canine scent since it must be torchering you Anubis." Ra said with a much blunter tone.

As they observed the battlespace, Anubis gestured his troops to set up a makeshift camp with wooden barricades to keep off Roman forces and funnel them into kill zones around the narrow entrances with spikes and watchtowers raining fire down on their enemies. The army following behind him soon set up camps around the hilltop to protect the Jackal Guards on their flanks.

The Roman Legions in the meantime were now preparing for their battles with the Egyptian army, Felix, son of Crassus was now no doubt facing the shadow of his father's cowardice nature casted over him. With an illustrious Roman family of Patrician denounced as warmongers, hypocrites and now greedy cowards, he felt the burden to destroy the shame somehow. "Check Ballista ammo! Prepare the Onager ropes, we ride to fight them at dawn!" Ordered Felix to the legion under his command as the Auxiliary ran to prepare their weapons and check their heavy and light artilleries in the city of Neapolis.

Anubis in the meantime had his army set up observation posts around the main camp, each one had a string of tripwire with some captured emanelwares wired on them to act as security measures. The men were cycled in and out of each posts to keep watch on the area in front of them while the Roman Legions were seen sending out Scout Equites to keep an eye on the Egyptian army's movements and their possible flanking attacks. All of this was observed by a single deity, Discordia, the goddess of Discord and chaos.

She hides inside a bush on an opposite hill overlooking the city and muse on the two opposing armies facing off with each other. "So I'll finally have the chance to soak up on mindless male entertainment and slaughter? Boring. I'd rather go poison the next patch of grapes than this." Said Discordia with a huff while Felix's legion prepare themselves for battles but neither side knew when will Bellona and her own Legion come.

As they lay and wait the arrival of Bellona's troops soon came in as big of a force as she could muster up. She herself did not ride on any chariot, or arrive in a very formal manner as most deities choose. Rather she walked among her soldiers with her massive sword slung over her shoulder. Her own deity sense told her of another deity nearby and as such she looked over to Discordia. Though not pleased. "Oh boy… I'm with you today? Did they mean for this to be my last battle since i'm feeling like several deities are in that camp over there I think." Bellona sated.

"Discordia! I knew it was you all along! You filthy saboteur of my wine crop!" Bacchus shrieked out pointing at Discordia as she then quickly hide her golden apple behind her back and gave an innocent glee to Bacchus as if to troll him. "What? Me? What did I do? I was just taking a nice little stroll around the place and sowing some of my DISCORD!" She shrieked out in a suddenly high pitched and demented manner with her eyes glowing bright as the stars. "On the populace of Neapolis, they could use some chaos and poisons to brighten their dreadful existence." Said Discordia in a teasing tone as she blew some dust off her shoulder.

Bacchus gasped seemingly outraged by the act of terror and senseless poisoning by Discordia as he quickly leaped on her using his belly to crush her on the spot. "Not today." Discordia flew away using her butterfly like wings on her back, leaving Bacchus to land on his stomach in a hard and less than graceful slam on the ground. "Like I said, nobody invited me to dinners or parties, think Zeus back in the Trojan War, so I decided to wreck their days big time. And by wrecking, I mean fed them with these." She smiled at the two as she held out her golden apple in hand for them to see, on the apple, it had the saying "To the fairest" written on it. She then held up another golden apple, this one had the saying "To the strongest" written on it, both were Latin writing. She smooched one of the apple as if to make herself an affront to Bellona and Bacchus. "The senate loved these in their last major party." Said Discordia.

Bellona dashed over to Bacchus and picked him up off of his stomach while glaring up at Discodia. Looking at the apples she could tell they're worse than gilded. Actual traps meant to alure weaker minded. It was confusing for Bellona to grasp how she worked, or what went on, but knowing Discordia not much in her mind was aligned.

"Oh you bitch! You poisoned them, and now you're going to run like this!? What the hell was any of this for even? Do you even know or was this a stunt to really kill off the rest of what we have left?!" Bellona questioned while circling her massive sword around in a circle. Her glare and red eyes locked onto Discordia.

Discordia giggled as she flew out of the way and dodged Bellona's blade swings side to side before finally summoned a rectangular purple doormat on the ground where Bellona was standing, stunning her just a moment before Discordia fired off her cluster of star sprite attack at Bellona's face. She then flew up into the air where Bellona can't reach her to taunt the Goddess of war and patron of warriors.

"Gee Bell, I wanna tell you something. Oh that's right! You're in a relationship with Vulcan! Hahahahahahahaha! Now I'll be off to let you slaughter all the buffy Egyptian guys over there. Have fun!" Said Discordia as she flew away in the air, "Not unless my wine demands vengeance!" Bacchus bellowed out as he ran after Discordia leaving Bellona and her two Roman Legions to take on the Egyptians that were on a hill on the opposite side of Neapolis.

Bellona after regaining her senses felt her energy drained more than it already had been before after facing Discordia's fierce and crazed onslaught of attacks. Bellona stumbled back onto her feet and shook her head out. "Damn her! Alright! Everyone! Rally now! Go!" Bellona commanded with as much of a stern tone as she could muster while she pointed her sword towards the Egyptian camp. Alone however she felt like her entire pantheon crumbled before her as her battle and war raged on.

The Roman Legion began to make their move towards the Egyptian encampment on the hill with Felix's legion leading the charge to take the camp head on. He positioned his ballistas around the camp to bombard its wooden walls with the bolts and stones being lobbed up at the garrison force. The bombardment caught the Egyptians off guard as they didn't expect the Romans to make a daring and bold attack to so suddenly, their camp's walls crumbled before the bombardments while the men scrambled from their half finished tents to grab their weapons and gears and man the defensive positions.

Anubis though commonly a cavalry commander found himself now on the ground with his heavy infantry, the Pezhetairoi, they formed themselves up into a Phalanx formation with their Sarissa spears pointed to their front looking at the front entrance of the camp, where Roman Legions would no doubt charge in from. Horus himself was manning the East entrance of the camp with his Royal Thorax Swordsmen forming a shield wall to keep the enemies at bay while other contingents of the Jackal Guards spread themselves out around the camp to anchor down the approaches.

The archers were stringing their bows and arrows behind the pikemen and melee infantry while the cavalry forces were tied up by another camp further back to be used as a quick reaction force in case he vanguard being attacked. Anubis himself dressed in a cuirass breastplate made of bronze, the style and design was highly reminiscent of Hellenic cultures with a Makedonian sun in the middle of the Cuirass's design.

On his head, he wore a customized Egyptian helmet made of pure gold with a face mask that covered his upper jaw and face with a pair of visor slits for him to keep an eye on the battlefield. His wrists and ankles all had protective gears and gauntlets with the latter sporting the ankh symbol of life. He held his signature Xiphos sword on his right hand and held up his Hoplon shield on his left ready for battles.

Next to Anubis Thoth came out of his own tent hearing the sudden battle spring up abruptly in the calm, and et tense environment they had orincall. He already had a bow on him, and his book ready for magic magialattackand speall casting, but he looked ahead at the charging Roman forces, and saw Bellona among the troops charging with her shield using it to deflect many of the arrows that hit it.

Many of the arrows turned into burnt ash upon hitting her shield as her fur seemed to channel through it. Thoth himself looked to Anubis nervously. "This war of ours has just turned into a pantheon war. We can't back down from this i'm afraid. Though… I can feel something not right with her…" Thoth commented.

"Either seething fury or begrudging commitment, either way she'll get her war." Said Anubis in a cold manner as he braced himself for the charging Romans that were coming up the hill, the Egyptians barely had time to prepare their defenses properly as a result there were not enough stakes and spikes to hold the advancing Roman troops back. The Pezhetairoi kept their Sarissa spears held up at the enemies, with each block of Roman Legionaries, the pikemen thrust their spears into the Roman's neck and vulnerable abdomen area, dropping anyone daring to come close to them while Anubis standing firmly behind them to keep up the troop morales.

Horus himself was doing the same as the crown prince let out a falcon screech that was so ear piercing to the Romans that some of them fell to their knees holding their ears in agony. Leaving them vulnerable and wide open for Egyptian Thorax swordsmen to hack and brought them down on the ground dead. To keep up the pressure, the Romans rotate Cohorts in and out of the assault to keep up momentum of their assaults while the Egyptians were clinging on to their positions with their men having no breaks in the midst of the fighting. "Hold the line men! Anhur and Sekhmet are on the way!" Horus screeched out as he joined in the fight stabbing the Romans with his tradition Egyptian short, a straight blade with an ornate hilt that bore his falcon head and name with the blade made of gold bearing inscriptions and hieroglyphs on its surface.

However, as Horus commanded his troops to take a firm stand on the ground, he quickly saw many of his troops flung into the air with broken or shattered bones as Bellona shield bashed many of the formations out of the way. "I don't have the energy for this! Someone is fucking with us! You're here at the wrong damn time!" Bellona shouted. She grabbed the hilt of her sword in both hands and spun around in a massive circle. Her sword large and long enough to create a massive rumble through the air in a metallic chime before she swung a circular cutting motion chopping through many of the set up Egyptian formations crippling them.

"Oh no not today!" Horus gasped out at the sight of Bellona's blades cutting through his Thorax swordsmen as he then leap into the air, using his wings to propel him flying towards her before make a heavy slash across Bellona's shield, hoping to knock it flying away only to see it merely having a scratch mark on its surface. "Damn you're good!" He cursed under his breath as the crown prince quickly grabbed his own shield, a large traditional Egyptian shield with spade shape made of gold with a large ankh symbol on its surface. He held the shield up and cover himself from several of her sword's slash and hack but the impact's forces were so strong that he was being pushed back slowly.

Thoth himself dash towards Horus's side skidding forwards and flinging the tip of his finger outwards towards Bellona. From the tip of Thoth's finger shot a cyan colored magical bolt of energy that managed to strike Bellona in her chest flinging her back towards her own men. "Oh this not good. I think we may have overestimated ourselves she-"

However, as he pandered on Bellona got back up from the dirt she layed on and darted her gaze right at Thoth. She spat out a blob of spit and huffed out. "Good then. Let play a little rougher. I don't think any of the legion here is strong enough to fight you head on so I'll be doing the fighting for them!" bellona said. Dashing at Thoth, the tip of her blade cut and grinding into the ground and cut a clear trench. She ran up to Thoth and spun around only for Thoth duck just in time while he grit his beak. He dashed backwards to see he was still in one piece thankfully, but saw bellona stumble around trying to get her foothing back.

"Mummify!" Came the growling voice of Anubis as a mummify bandage ensnared Bellona keeping her stunned and wrapped up tight in front of Anubis. He then summoned his scepter from the gem embedded on the gauntlet in his right palm and slammed its hilt on the ground. "Let the eternal darkness embrace you!" He chanted in a deep baritone as a dark cyan portal opened up under Bellona's feet where skeletal bony arms of the dead reached up and grabbed her leg. He then opened his mouth to bellow out a blast of cyan ethereal locusts at Bellona to further poke damage her before Horus dashed in and slash his blade across her chest.

Bellona gasped and backed up feeling the blade slash her across the chest. She stabbed her sword into the ground to prop herself upwards though clearly some of Horus's damages hit her as some of her deity blood hit the ground. It was however Thoth to stand in front of Horus and Anubis. He gave them both some type of stern look while shaking his head. "Something isn't right here. She's a deity of war, and one that powered the legion long enough to expand their territory. Yet she can barely hold an army or herself in battle now…" Thoth said in a cryptic voice looking back to Bellona.

Instead of charging forwards again Bellona stepped a couple steps backwards and sighed to herself. "Dammit you're killing us!... I can't… We can't… Ugh. You wasted enough. You let Discordia fly away and my entire pantheon, and this entire empire die at your hands.." Bellona argued.

Seeing the sight of Bellona, an enemy that can barely hold her own against her enemies render the battle virtually meaningless to Anubis by this point, the invasion and the objective of taking Rome, would mean nothing. In fact to Anubis, it would make Egypt no better than the enemies he had been slaughtering by the thousands. "Cease your aggression! Fetch water and food for the Goddess now!" Anubis shouted sternly to his warriors, this caught the ears of the Romans and Egyptians who were still locked in bitter combat as they turned their attention towards him surprised and stunned. "But my lord, we are in a war with these Romans! They came to our home and slaughtered our people!" One of the captains in the Jackal Guards protested to Anubis standing next to a Roman Centurion.

"Belay the aggression! We have served our duty well by evicting the Romans from Hellas. Now it is our job to end the conflict with honour and dignity. Lest we become the thing that we fought." He stated with a sigh before looking back at Bellona before approaching her, his sword sheathed and his shield mounted on his back, he then extended his hand to her to help the Roman Goddess of war up to her feet.

She grit her teeth, and nearly growled at him almost in a driven feral manner. She stepped back and panted before seeing Anubis holding his hand out to her. Such a simple gesture of peace, and something Bellona hadn't seen in years. In fact it was almost an alien gesture to her to see. She looked down to her own hand to her left slowly feeling compelled for once to end her own war stature as a goddess, and for once have a more peaceful approach. She held her hand up and grabbed onto Anubis's pulling herself in. As he saw some tears seemed to stream out of her own eye lids. "I don't know how long its been… They've used me… Just to expand past their own borders. I can't… I'm out of energy. I can't support them any longer… I just need… I need…." She felt a burden lift off of her, and instantly she collapsed in Anubis's arms her sword fell to her side.

Thoth looked to this alarmed however. "Used her?..." Thoth asked himself perplexed. His eyes looked upon the strange sight of Anubis almost hugging her. Keeping her supported when she can't support her followers or even herself. Here was more Thoth saw in this situation. "A slave to her followers… I didn't think that was possible. My goodness no. I didn't think deities could be made slaves, but it seems she couldn't answer to the demands of her people, and well... Grew weaker over time. I must say though Anubis. It must have taken some force to keep you from attacking any further. One that wasn't me this time. Let her, uh, rest. In some safer location. Her mana count is drastically low." Thoth said with a lower voice.

"A man can speak religiously Thoth. But he need neither practice nor heed to the creeds." Said Anubis in a cold tone as he lifted Bellona up in his palms into his personal Strategos tent to give her rest, much to the bewilderment of Horus who only looked on and sputtered in absolute surprise and confusion. Finding that the turn of events had become extremely bizarre for him and others liking.

He nonetheless followed his brother into the command tent of the camp to assist Anubis in whatever medical aid he need. The Legions of Bellona all looked on complete lost for words as they stood and watched the situation unfold. They knelt down to their knees and held their palms in a praying manners as they spoke in Latin praying for Bellona's recovery. To think that their own Goddess of War, a patron for warriors like them and yet she could barely hold her ground in war against the Egyptians.

The other Roman Legions of Felix soon saw the battle ended abruptly and felt nervous as to what happened next, the young Legatus rode on his steed towards the Egyptian camp holding a white flag in his hand hoping that the Egyptian army would acknowledge the signal of ceasefire and surrender. "Oh Triumphant warriors of the East, do the deeds of honour and grace, please give Rome your honest words for Peace and bury this hatchet. For wars between men make the Gods weep, war between the Gods make the Heavens cry oceans." Said the Legatus with all the strength and dignity that he could muster to give Rome the benefit of peace.

Bellona herself still barely conscious could make out Felix's word out of the many prayers the Romans for some reason. Though it was clear by her glare Felix may have been a large portion of her energy gone for her boy. "Aw shut up Felix! You and Crassus are the big reasons this is happening!" Bellona shouted. She laid down on her back in one of the tents set up while grumbinmg to any one who listened to her. She looked towards the other deity sniveling humiliated, defeated, and in a weak state, but never out of her determined state. "Look I j-just need f-five minutes. I can l-ead again. After a quick nap. Just leave me be…" Bellona said in a grumpy voice.

Of course Thoth by the bedside documented these events very carefully in his book with a stern frown on his own face while documenting the rare case of a dity being used as a salve to their followers. "They really are slavers. Well I'm fairly certain she can recover. The wound admittedly were harsh, but nothing I can't heal with time and patience. I request for mana chalices, and some materials for meditation. Scented candles, and herbal spices to burn for some relaxing smoke perhaps." Thoth said quickly. He himself seems to be perplexed, and nearly outraged if not for the polite tone he spoke in.

Anubis nodded to Thoth as he then knelt down to Bellona and patted her chest to give her some reassurance for what was going to happen next before he turned towards the entrance of his battered camp where Roman Legions most of whom were young adults, 18 years or slightly older. Barely out of their boy hoods and already thrusted into the harsh nature of War.

The Egyptian and Carthaginians on their flanks came in without a fight as they disarm the Roman Legions one at a time before Felix himself being escorted into the camp to meet Anubis face-to-face. "You have my word...for a ceasefire. But I will have peace with Rome's ruling government." Said Anubis in a stern tone to Felix who was standing before the entrance of the Strategos tent.

The young legatus gulped and swallowed his breath before Anubis before the deity came out to him with his armor still smudged with blood. "Rome started this war and must now accept defeat but do so with dignity. I will be lenient but acts of vengeance will not be tolerated." He threatened the Legatus sternly, making him shudder in his sandals. He nodded to Anubis before making his reply. "I understand that...you require someone to deliver words to Rome?"

[hr]

The streets of Rome was now crowded with refugees flocking into the city for shelters from Neapolis and Capua and the fighting in the South, they hadn't heard of news of their Goddess defeat but only the concern for their family's well-being and the various other concerns such as food, economic opportunities and even more extreme cases of preparing for their deaths. In the palace of Imperator Marcus Lenox, words have been reaching his ears of Roman Legions in Germania falling back to the Gaul's borders and fortify their forts there to prepare for possible migrations by Franks, Goths, Visigoths, Ostrogoths and various other Germanic tribes from central Germania into Gaul and Rome's Alpine border and the Po Valley.

A message was soon brought to his attention however, this one was folded up with a Roman eagle seal on it, He could tell that it was important and he had to answer it soon. The moment he opened the letter he saw one written in Latin but the wording and tone was clearly not Romans, but at the very least the letter was straight to the point and serious with concerns for Rome's future surprisingly enough.

Woe to the mothers of Rome, woe to the sons of Rome. Accept defeat with grace and dignity and Rome may reborn. Bellona fought bravely in battles but her strength was but candles in the winds, extinguished and barely able to hold her ground. For Rome and Bellona to enjoy peace and rebuild, I shall speak before you Imperator Marcus Lenox. Open the gates of Rome, in two days time I shall return Bellona and your legions unharm.

Veni, Vidi, Vici.

Anubis.

"Anubis? The deity? He bothered to write this mortal man a letter such as this? When no one else would heed my words?" Marcus Lenox asked himself. He leaned back in his chair feeling this as his chance to make a proper end. Despite everything this was the one message that he was waiting for. He knew already if the goddess the Romans worshipped couldn't sustain he as a mere man would fair even worse. "Our Bellona what have we done to you… Dammit… I accept. I accept defeat, and i call for a full retreat back into what is left. I want a personal meeting though with Anubis now that I have his attention. Now I can put this empire, or what's left of it to a cease." Lenox said with a thoughtful frown worn on his face.

"Yes Imperator. Ave Caesar!" Said the messenger of the palace as he quickly ran to gather some quills and papers to write on and began to work on a letter for Anubis knowing that this was Rome's chance to salvage its dire situation and the failing regime it is suffering. Once the letter was written and finished, a pigeon was sent out with the letter in tow flying down south to Neapolis to deliver the letter to the Egyptian Strategos.

[hr]

Bloodshed and needless killing red the land as Legionnaires were buried in full armor and military honour, each one had a pair of coins, Roman Denarii on their eyes with their swords in their grasp. Anubis himself sat on the hill of his encampment watching the Roman Legionnaires being given a pyre funeral in a mass grave to prevent their corpses from harboring diseases and germs. The other servicemen were watching their comrades parted the Realm of the living and enter Elysium in the flame, some would go to Pluto's Tartarus but alas, the deeds had been done.

Anubis sat next to Horus with his cuirass resting beside him letting the Roman's autumn air blowing over his exposed torso under the pale moonlight. A pigeon would then fly over their heads before landing down in front of Anubis dropping the letter it was carrying to him. "So Rome had made its reply. Let's see what we have." Said Anubis as he picked the letter up and walked into the Strategos tent with Horus where the important generals were waiting along with Ra and Thoth. "We have Rome's reply. They agreed to negotiate with us, and most importantly, a graceful end to the war they've lost." Said Anubis as he held the letter in hand and unfurled it to Ra and Thoth to read for themselves.

Ra pumped his arm downwards in a jackpot type of gesture while a massive grin appeared on his face. "Yes! We did it! I mean… Of course we did it! We win again just like always!" Ra shouted with victory glee. He grabbed both of his hip in his hands and sighed out. "Now then. What do you do now? I won't actually expecting to get this far yet. We did that with more efficiency than I would have thought we could accomplish." Ra said with some curiosity.

Thoth rose a single digit up on his right hand and cleared his throat. "Well first off we convey with this particular Roman leader. Then we make more negotiations, apply a peaceful tone with them. Then we make talks of a reformed society, rebuild much of their city centers since from what I have seen thus far… They'll require us for a hand. Currently I feel their own deities are anxious knowing our presence draws near." Thoth stated.

"As far as I can see it, Rome must be contained and there are still pretenders out there lustfully crave its throne. I'll sign the Peace Treaty, but we'll have to carve up some territories. Roman Empire will be in Latinum and the Gaul. But the rest, return to their rightful owners. Iberia to Carthage along with Karia and Corsica. Magna Graecia back to the Greeks along with Syracuse restore to its independent status." Said Anubis in a stoic tone as he looked at the world map of the Mediterranean with Horus stroking his chin curious at Anubis's intentions with carving up Roman empire in such a manner.

"Are you just going to draw random borders by sneezing?" Sekhmet asked in a sarcastic tone at Anubis pointing down at the map that he was drawing the border lines on. "No, Magna Graecia is our buffer state with the Greeks against Rome's possible future conquests. Carthage's hold in the Iberia will give our partner in the Western Mediterranean the financial power it need to rebuild itself along with the Agricultural power at home." Said Anubis as he drew the map's boundaries to help Thoth and Ra realize his intentions.

On the map, they saw the southern parts of Italian Peninsula, the cities of Croton and Tarentum being ceded to the Greeks with the island of Sicily divided into two with Syracuse being an independent city state with Carthage holding onto Lilybaeum to the west of the island. On the Iberian Peninsula, the South East corner of the peninsula along the coast were marked as Carthaginian territories. And finally Rome's territories shrunk back to Latinum being under direct central control of Rome, encompassing the northern cities of Arretium and Arriminium and the southern cities such as Neapolis, Capua. "That's the extent of Rome's territories." Said Anubis.

"Still too big." Ra said in an abrupt blurt much to Thoth's own chagrin. "Personally I would have revoked them after seeing the bodies, and the trouble they have caused, but oh well. This is as close to an agreement we are going to receive here. Oh but at least our Greek allies will have their territories returned. That's fair." Ra said while gazing back at the remaining Roman territory with a stern frown.

Thoth however seemed much more gentle here and looked to the map more with a lighter heart. "I believe this is fair. They claimed those territories before and it's just the right amount for them to sustain themselves, and keep to themselves. Not too much where they will end up owning too much they could ever possibly control, and not too little where they won't have enough. I see this as fair. Even if you don't agree Ra. I have to agree though the Greek territories were much desired to be back in the hands of their rightful owners. Who know Anubis. Perhaps this will be a brighter future for Rome as a possible Ally perhaps?" Thoth asked in an optimistic tone.

Anubis himself nodded to Thoth but very slowly showing that he still had doubts regarding the Roman's willingness to take this bitter pill and swallow it whole seeing that they had been spoon fed propaganda of conquests and victories. The pride of Rome rests on the tip of the spear of the Legions marching into the land of the enemies and barbarians to expand Rome's domain. But now they were fighting for survival itself. "They'll either take it with dignity, or take it with a blade." Said Anubis in a menacing tone making his threats clear that he would not hesitate to fight them aggressively.

[hr]

Discreet and discretion were his to use in the high stake situation he found himself in, Ratatoskr zipped from one shadow to another, crawling on the ground and scurry on all fours towards the Roman Palace of Salona. The Balkan was an easy travel for him from the forests of Germania and Asgard. The sly messenger of the held up a shrub to cover his silhouette as he began to tip toe towards the nearby garden of the palace. The place apparently had been built some years ago as one of the Brutii's trophy palace for their conquest of Illyria.

"Infamy! Treasonous Infamy!" Bellowed Crassus in his palace as he slammed his fist on the table upon hearing the news of Imperator Marcus Lenox calling for peace with the Egyptians. He was apparently writing his letter to the Scipii family in the Iberia Peninsula and Karalis island.

"How dare he call for peace while Roman blood scream vengeance!? I will make Rome great again whether he likes it or not!" Crassus coughed out on the table as he finished the letter and went to the Pigeon coup to pick his courier. "Ooooh chance of redemption before moving to Midgard. Maybe I'll stay in some place call Texas." Said Ratatoskr as he rubbed his paws together deviously and grinned.

He then entered the palace window and tip toe towards Crassus as he was walking away from his private chamber to deliver a copy of the letter. As he walked away however, the squirrel of the Norse quickly tucked on his toga and crawl up on his head, he looked around slightly before curled up, pretending to be his hair. Crassus didn't suspect a thing, save for the odd warm sensation he had on his head.

He stopped for a moment before tapping on the top of his head feeling something furry and squishy, he felt it odd that his often bald head had hair. "By the grace of Juno! I've grown hair! Finally no longer being called an old baldy!" Crassus screamed out as happy as a boy finding his first nugget of gold before running out of his palace towards the pigeon coup just across the garden.

"Nuts?" the squirrel suddenly squeaked up from on top of his head causing Crassus to screech to a halt as he looked around for the origin of the voice. "Who goes there? Show yourself so I can make you my slave!" He growled out with his mouth drooling and his facial expression seem to ooze a mentally deranged lunatic with power.

"Up here grandpa mama!" The squirrel hung his face down at Crassus's own making him scream like a lady struggling to remove the roden from his face. As he batted his hands and ran around aimlessly, Ratatoskr grabbed his letter from his hands and fired off a trio of lighting acorns at him, zapping him in the process.

"See ya wanna be a miya! Hahahahahahahahaha!" Ratatoskr chuckled as he ran through the streets of Salona with the letter in his mouth towards the port of the city. "Stop that rodent it stole the sacred letters of Rome's future!" Crassus shouted incoherently as his Legionnaires and mercenaries ran after Ratatoskr, only to find that catching a rodent with agility, speed and maneuverability as his advantage made them bumped into one another and falling over crates and wooden boxes.

Ratatoskr made a lighting zap towards the port where he found a Viking Knarr transport ship that he arrived on, he jumped on the deck of the ship and panted out heaving in and out before handing the letter to the ship's main Viking warrior, Gunter the Geats. "Found the super secret letter of bald head Crassus! The guy is a total crossdresser since he screamed like a woman and wear a dress while having a man's bald head." Said Ratatoskr in an overly excited and cheerful tone as he attempted to lighten the mood.

The overly abrupt entrance of Ratatoskr caused only confusion to form inside of Gunter's mind as he was verbally bludgeoned by the hyperactive squirrel deity. He backed up at first taken off guard, and confused. "Excuse me what? I didn't catch any of that. What did you say. Oh a note." Gunter said as he took the note. He unraveled it while eyeing over Ratatoskr making sure he was staying non rabid. "Hmmm. alright let's see what I got to deal with here. You're not a biter by any chance are you?" Gunter said in a concerned tone unsure of one of deities of his own pantheon.

Ratatoskr shook his head as he munched on some nuts in a basket next to him before being pestered by a tabby cat Gunter brought along. The cat itself began to play fight with Ratatoskr by first pinning the squirrel's head down with its paw while Ratatoskr hold the cat back with his tiny paws. But being a rodent, he himself was rather easy prey for the kitten's picking as the feline continue his curious interaction with the rodent deity. Gunter however saw that the letter by Crassus was an order of attack to the Legions stationed in Karalis and Corsica islands to attack Rome's Eastern coast while his own legions in the Balkan will make an assault on Rome from the West after they have landed on the coast of Italy.

Seeing the attack order Gunter thought it was an alarming find, and possibly a stroke of luck. He whistled to the tabby cat looking back towards Ratatoskr for a quick conversation ."Simon leave him alone for a moment. This sounds like someone has got into Crassus's mind and poisoned him. He does know attacking an entire legion would be a civil war right? I know they have strict punishments including death, but this is crazy now. How did you even sneak in to get this? I thought the Romans had superior body guard coverage." Gunter said in a perplexed tone.

"Ha! They barely pay their bodyguards for capturing the great Ratatoskr woohoo! So I got in and out pretty easily as a result." Said Ratatoskr in an overly excited tone as the Knarr transport left Salona out to the South Eastern coast of Italy in a rather brief trip. "So now we just need to get to the Egyptian edgelord and tell him about Crassus super secret holiday wishlist! Buying Rome!" The squirrel tossed his paws into the air and juggled a trio of acorns around in his paws while looking up at Gunter who carried a large battle axe and round shield, one of the standard weapon loadouts of Viking warriors.

Hearing this they already had plans to make ahead of time before the Roman situation escalated any further. It was a breakthrough for Gunter to hear Rome to go into a civil war even if the full picture wasn't within his head yet. He punched a fist on his shield and grinned. "If you can stay focused long enough then go now! Get our allies informed and I can stay here and get the rest of the men here equipped with this. We are getting our homes back!." Gunter boasted.

"Righty o as Artio! I'm blasting off again!" Ratatoskr hopped up and down before finally leaped into the air disappearing into a brilliant blue light in the sky. Gunter could feel the cold air of Yggdrasil blowing down his shoulders and coats. The the world tree of the Norse had now become rather cold and withered. A premonition of what's to come for the Norse and all pantheons as the war draws to a close in the Winter season.


	11. Chapter 10: Antebellum

The day of peace was coming, two days to prepare a location, not enough time to think of neutral ground but to use Neapolis instead. It was now a moment of anxious waiting and cautious optimism as peace drew closer and closer. Acmeus, now Magister Militum was marching a Legion down to Neapolis, escorting their emperor, Imperator Marcus Lenox who on his personal steed still wearing his Legion General's armor but this time with a wreath crown on his head to denote his status. Around him were Praetorian Cavalry cohorts protecting the Emperor as they went South to Neapolis and meet their counterparts from Egypt to negotiate peace terms.

And yet to the North, marched Crassus's legions as he exited the Balkan and enter the Italian Peninsula, his goal was clear, to take back Rome, not long ago he was ousted from his seat of power. Now he intends to take it back by force with his army moving in closer to the Po Valley. To the West, his reinforcements from the Scipii landed near Rome by the Tiber River, taking advantage of the situation to link up with Crassus in an assault to take the city while the northern frontier was an open door with no legion to protect.

Watching from a nearby treeline, Discordia giggled gleefully as the Roman legions of Crassus marched into Mediolanum and head South at full speed to reinforce the Scipii's Legions and Marines. "Well now this looks like a fun strife to indulge in! Much better than the Boys only club known as the Senate." Discordia sarcastically remarked as she viewed the situation through the lens of her telescopes while Hades stood behind her still a firm and stern deity up to this point. "I see that you are quite interested in sowing discord among men for the sake of it Discordia. Disturbing indeed." Said Hades in a deep ominous voice as his bony arms crossed in front of him.

"Of course I do Hades! Why wouldn't I? They need to brighten up their days with some jealousy and rages every now and then! What's your reason to jump on this bandwagon?" She asked him teasingly while lounging lazily on a rock. Much to his annoyance he sighed out and looked back at the smoky manifestation of his memories, his Persephone and life with Zeus on Olympus and Poseidon ruling the sea. "My brothers were gross. Disgusting rapists and adulterers." Said Hades in a terse one as the smoke in his hand showing Zeus in one of his escapade with a mortal woman.

"True, father never cared about me, Athena was always his best. He was a whore." Said Ares in a crude and brazenly disrespectful tone while polishing his massive sword waiting for something to happen to them. "Now now Ares, with Zeus gone we just need to focus on tying up loose ends, namely Anubis. Nasty job but must be done regardless. Am I right?" Hades turned around the ground of rogue deities as a hooded figure came out of the shades of the forest and came towards them, the first thing Hades and Loki could see was an amphibian pair of lips with herpes on them and a dark purple colored slimy skin.

Loki at the time sat on a rock hunched over while sharpening one of his stabbing swords. Many literal backs felt its cold and sharpened stab into bodies. Though despite it being as sharp, and as shining as it was there seems to be an issue with Loki desiring it to be sharper. As the hooded figure came closer to the group Loki looked over and huffed out. Looking down to the sword he spun it around in his hand unsatisfied, and dug the blade back into a hilt on the side of his hip. He jumped off of the rock, and smirked towards the hooded figure. "So what's the news now? I can feel some violent stuff about to happen! Look at them all! All those roman fools about to fall right down into a big trap. Or at least kill and die for no reason. It's lovely when you think about it." Loki said before making a hyperactive giggle.

"Oh don't worry." Said the hooded figure in a suspiciously Eastern accent, dry and lacking the versatile phonetics and sounds of other more extrovert civilizations as he grinned at the group. "A nasty business shall be covered by the most diligent of workers. Workers of Kek." The figure let his hood fall off behind his back revealing his frog face to them with a pair of glowing dark navy blue eyes and an Egyptian styled crown on his head.

The crown was apparently styled in an oval shaped tablet with a cobra at the top. But instead of the usual types that other Egyptian deities wear, this one seems twisted, the cobra's jaw was prominently opened with its tongue lashing out. The cobra's frill was even bigger and had spikes protruding out on the sides. "My lord wishes you fortune in your work. I will signal you when to pull out when things become too hairy. Remember, we must ensure the death of Anubis, he knows too much and his wit is undeniably sharp. Unlike the feeble bird brains who raised him." Said the frog deity to the group of rogue galleries.

Seeing Kek up close and personal wasn't a pleasant sight to take in even for Loki's hectic nature. There was something very demented about him. At least compared to the other egyptian deities he looked either monstrous, demoic, or abnormal compared to the others. Despite his inner gripes Loki managed to hold his tongue, and focused on the other deities to insult. For his sake at least it was the best thing to do. "Right so throwing that dog a bone won't work. Unless of course we steal the bone from one of his graves. Unfortunately you just missed Hades putting my son into some weird place. Don't know why since he was doing a good job and wasn't finished yet. Oh well you saved me some time and effort pal. But I can't just get him out of his forest to do a dog fight with Anubis so we need something else to work with here O Ruler of Kekistan." Loki said.

"Yes indeed." Kek grinned widely revealing a smug expression on him as he crossed his arms looking at Loki and Hades. "Perhaps the God of War Ares my enlighten us on his method." Said Kek as Ares hopped on the ground in a sadistic manner manner with his sword and shield hand to show how he was essentially a bloodthirsty killer. "I'll run this blade through his gut and send him to meet Zeus myself! That's how we'll do it!" Ares excitedly exclaimed with his sword held up in hand. "Splendid, bloodshed while your sons play that board game for eternity." Said Hades with a sigh at his nephew. "I'll leave to your devices." Said Kek as the frog deity began to disappear into dust and left them to decide their methods.

Loki watched as Kek dissolved into dust giggling to himself. He looked back to the other rogues with a large wild smile on his face while his eyes flared a green color. "Oh boy! We get to kill us a jackal today! Okay first you guys distract his weird animal headed friends and I can get in all invisible and then stab him in the back! Is there anything I'm missing? No its perfect. They won't attack me because they won't see me!" Loki shouted in a hyper active glee, but he was clearly missing any type of strategizing.

"Oh joy." Said Hades in a sarcastic tone as he sighed out hearing the way Loki made his words increasingly insane and erratic.

[hr]

Anubis was still in Neapolis camping on his still being repaired camp as his Guards took turn keep up their watch of the surrounding area to ensure that no one would attack them in a sudden. Anubis himself was sitting in his tent with his Xiphos sword in hands, he spun it around while the blade was planted on the ground with him watching the sun's movement and the shadow's gradual almost stilted movement.

He waited for news of the incoming Roman Counterparts. His scouts had already told him that Lenox was moving towards Neapolis with his personal legion and Praetorians to protect him. He waited for two days since he sent out the message to Lenox and now he was expecting results and sense of self control.

Along by his side was his own adoptive fatherly figure Thoth as he peered towards the horizon next to Anubis. He had a firm gaze locked onto the distance in front of them overlooking much of the countryside where the legion would have room to march. Thoth looked over to Anubis and then rested one of his hands down on the jackal diety's shoulders. "Yes. yes. The wait can be ever so agitating, but I feel this man would not be the one to turn against his own words." THoth spoke in a wise tone.

As his words spoke the two of them felt the ground make a gentle rumble below their feet. It at first started off as a minor quake, and barley shook either of them, but it gradually increase in its intensity becoming more and more like a massive Earth shaking vibration. Thoth's eyelids opened up wide as he looked towards the direction of what sounded like hundreds of marching feet. To his own shock he saw in fact marcus Lenox had come with a large legion as his protection. The shocking thing for Thoth was how many loyal guards Leonx had amassed. Almost as if he was the one thing the Roman legion rusted. Thoth looked to Anubis with his eyes still large. "Well then… I must say he made a grand entrance. I leave you two to converse. I still am needed with bellona still. Be right back." Thoth said stepping back towards the many tents erected for a makeshift base.

"Pray that we have peace." Said Anubis as he then stood up from the ground and mounted on Ramiel's back to gallop down the dirt part of the hill towards the neutral ground of the city, a massive crop area of Neapolis's grapes harvest. The jackal deity rode towards the negotiation tent which was a small tent set up with a table inside the tent with seats for Anubis and the Imperator to negotiate. "The Egyptian are punctual o Imperator. We must not disappoint them with our Roman diligent." Said Acmeus, the now newly minted Magister Militum of Imperator Lenox beside the emperor looking at the tent from an opposite hill as he waited for his emperor remark on the situation.

Lenox nodded to Acmeus and continued uphill towards the negotiation tent. However, Lenxo still made a stern frown while heading towards the tent. "I understand this. Our goal is simple however, and he should understand the importance of mutual cooperation. Our main goal now is to heal our empire. The cost might be great, but it's better than incurring a new conflict. I doubt they want to feed the flames more than they already have been." Lenox said while entering the tent. He paused for a brief moment, and placed his hands again behind his back while his muscular chest puffed out a bit. He let off a slow sigh gathering his final thoughts together before moving up towards the tabe ahead of himself.

"Withdraw, cede your land, and I will stay my blade." Said Anubis in a terse laconic tone almost Spartan like manner to Lenox. It was clear cut and straight to the point and the deity handed Lenox a map of the proposed borders of antebellum Rome. The map itself depicted Rome to hold four major cities around the land of Latinum, Rome the capital on the Tiber River, Neapolis the port city to the south with Capua in between.

The North of Rome had two cities of the Julii family that Lenox hailed from, Arrinminium and Arretium, this made national defense an easy task as they only need to funnel the enemies into specific kill zones that they can fight. The Gaul remained in Roman's hands a spoil of war Lenox earned years ago with his Legion suppressing various Gallic tribes in the regions, namely the Arvenaci.

Looking to the map Lenox remained quiet for a moment, and kept his face without much of an expression at all. He rested his back against the back of the chair, and crossed one leg over the other resting the side of the calf over his thigh. He then crossed his arms over his stomach before looking over to Anubis with a more intense stare.

"So you're essentially telling me now what i have known for a very long time now. All that land we posed, but had no control of. Shed from Rome. unnecessary territory." Lenox said as he leaned forwards again to point to specific points on the map. "You're still granting Rome a way to trade, and establish outside contacts. Here with our port city Neapolis. Our capital dearest to many still belongs to us, and the land i many years ago gained for Rome from the expense of barbarian tribes. All still left to us. And there is just enough here for us to make a defensive stand." Lenox said in a stoic calm voice. Unlike what Anubis had seen so far from loud mouthed messengers, and louder emperors his was a shock to see some who still had a mind in the empire.

"Will you accept this?" The jackal deity asked sternly trying to make sure his point is short and clear cut. What he lacks in subtly he made up for it in raw brute strength and nerve wracking leverages. The jackal deity crossed his arms in front of Lenox making a frown at the Roman Emperor before finally sighed out. "One war with Rome is more than enough, better to have Rome stable and developed in a safe manner." Said the deity as he let the Emperor thought for a moment to consider his situation, he had multiple ports for trades along the coast of Latinum that he controlled and the colonies along the coast of the Gauls. The only thing left to do was how to use the earning of Rome's Denarii and the silver it can make from trading.

Lenox looked around for a moment to his right and left, and then at the table. His larger muscular hand rested on the table and tapped looking for an object. "I think this will do for us. This won't be an easy rise back to health for Rome. Do you have something I could write with? I know there is some paper signing here." Lenox said. He stopped for a brief moment and looked over to Anubis once again. "However, I can't guarantee the entire population will enjoy this decision. Nor can this agreement fix the issues in Rome immediately. The only thing I can ask for is some type of support while a slow reformation goes under way. One more thing is the state of our beloved goddess who we know fell in your current operating base. The people are concerned for her well being." Lenox said in a softer tone than before.

"Bellona is recovering it will take time. Perhaps she'll be better when Rome is in good health again." The Jackal deity would then hand over an inky quill for Lenox to sign his name on the peace agreement between Egypt and Rome as the jackal deity himself signed his own name on the document's copy for the Romans. He then stamped the Egyptian Royal Seal of Approval to give the document legitimacy that it needed to make sure that peace is ensured, albeit it was still greatly debatable whether the peace will last.

But while they were signing their agreement, Acmeus himself on the opposite hill had one of his runner came up behind him and spoke into his ears, the Magister Militum himself gasped in an appalling manner before he himself began to take in the information his runner gave him before he quickly gallop on his horse down to the tent where the two were concluding their signing of the peace agreement.

"Salve Imperator! Words have reached my ears that Crassus has been sighted, he is marching to take Rome as we speak and his allies the Scipii had linked up with him to the North of the city!" Said Acmeus in an urgent tone to the emperor as he looked terrified by the revelation of Crassus marching against them to thwart the peace agreement.

Hearing the current news Lenox remained calm and placed the palm of his hand over his face. He made a long drawn out sigh of disappointment while it sounded like very faint curses left his mouth. He removed his hand from his face and frowned disgusted. "Why is his mind tinted in such way it creates a chaotic mess for many others?... This needs to end now. And I need to end him... The future of Rome, and the better of the people depend on this agreement. And I won't let a maddened rabid emperor stand in the way of that…" Lenox said in a much darker tone as he stood up.

He turned his head towards Acmeus and placed his hands behind his back again. "Let us move now. Rally our legion and form a defensive formation before pushing up. We have to do this now or there will be no Rome." Lenox said. However before he spoke up again he turned his head back towards Anuis and made a thoughtful frown. "However, we may not be alone. Anubis. Would you desire to write history with us and enjoy a cooperative assault on Crassus's legion? Without belona on our side we are in a weakened state. Yet I feel you're oddly capable of leading what you have made along with us. We will give Bellona our power, but we need yours to fuel us further. To make an end to this conflict for the better." Lenox spoke.

"It'll be an honour. But bear in mind, I am only here to end a conflict a fruitcake started. And nothing more." Said Anubis as he stood up from his seat as he went out of the tent and mounted on the back of Ramiel and gallop back to his encampment. As he rode his horse, Acmeus and Lenox themselves were galloping back to their legion to prepare them for a forced march up north to retake Rome and put an end to the Roman Civil War, no matter how brief the Civil War might be, Rome must have peace.

Anubis came up to the entrance of his encampment bearing the agreement that Lenox apparently willing to uphold and handed it to Ra first and foremost before dismounting. "Pack up! We'll be moving North, one last loose end to tie up." Said Anubis in a booming baritone to the various Jackals in the camp, the warriors heeded his word, understanding that there was one last battle against their enemies.

He then went into the Strategos tent where Bellona was still resting from the encounter they had two days prior. "Crassus is back, making an attempt to take Rome again as usual. I'll be marching to collect his soul. At least the Romans would be spared of my blades." Said Anubis as he began to pack his satchels and rucksacks for a long journey.

However, as Anubis was busy packing his belongings for the war ahead of him he failed to notice just what methods were chosen to heal, and get Bellona back into a more healthy state. When he finally did notice his eyes were greeted to the sight of Thoth working his feathery hands into Bellona's bare back. In fact she seemed to only have white towel concealing her back and read while she layed on her chest while Thoth was incharge of providing therapeutic massaging treatment.

Thoth himself looked over to Anubis with an awkward blush on his face, and his eyes much wider than normal while bellona faced over to Anubis with a brow raised up questionably. "uh...Little privacy here? I think i'll just have to miss out on you messing Crassy up finally." Bellona said dryly while Thoth continued to make an alarmed stuttering sound.

"Trust me, you won't have to see his head on a platter." Said Anubis dryly before he proceeded to exit the tent to gather up his Jackal Guards, his army of course need time to pack up their tents and various belongings into rucksacks and satchels. The Jackals would then grab their weapons and equipment and gather into formations to begin their march from Neapolis to meet Crassus north of Rome.

"We'll march along the East coast of Italy, Imperator Lenox will meet them head on in the West. Then we'll come in on their flank and finish Crassus's army." Said Anubis to Ra and Anhur as he mounted on Ramiel's back to ride out and lead his army. "Don't worry about it Anubis, I'll make sure that the Jackal Guards can keep up at full speed." Said Anhur as he looked over to Ra and chuckled to his father as the Slayer of Enemies twirled his javelin in hands. "Now is the time to borrow those chariots." The lion smirked apparently he was intending to use the most iconic weapon in Egyptian Arsenal to fight his more heavily armored foes.

Ra himself was in a more anxious state of mind right now having read through the agreements the Roman's had made with the Egyptians. He however nodded while rushing out with the other deities. "Good. The won't soon forget our weapons and our crafts we made. This will be a show of our pride and of our strength. And I'm fairly certain our chariots will bury theirs. Just a hunch." Ra spoke before holding his hand out. In his hand a gathering of white shining light gathered and collected glowing bright and bright before a pole like length built up and solidified in a golden staff. His own personal weapon. Ra then looked back to Anubis with a frown. "Now are you sure this Lenox is to be trusted? I don't take much to outsiders. Thanks to Set's powers, but he's a Roman as well. Why would he want to decrease the size of his own empire?" Ra questioned.

"Because Ra, they can't control such a vast expanse of territories. They'll be crushed underneath their own weight. And he knows it." Said Anubis before galloping off with Ramiel and led his army of Jackal Warriors out to battle once again in a forced march up north. The Vanguard element of Egyptian Army march out in long columns with the infantry in the middle and cavalries on the flanks to scout and screening force to prevent enemy flanking attacks.

[hr]

As the army of Anubis and Lenox forced march their ways up to Rome to intercept their enemies, the Knarr transport ship of the Viking was moving ever closer to the shores of Italy. It was with the grace of Freyr that the Knarr ship itself was his personal vessel which can transform into a golden blanket that can be put into anyone's pockets. As the ship came to the port of Arriminium, the populace there saw the vessel's incoming from off the coast and were terrified by the sight of Viking raiders.

"Oh Jupiter gives us strength Viking raiders!" One of the dockworkers shouted out to the Romans in town, frightened by the sound of having raiders coming to them, the citizens of Arrinminium screamed in fear and started to run away from the streets and hide inside their homes and shuttered their windows and locked their doors. "Oh where is Vulcan?! We beseech you for help!" Another citizen cried out and ran to their homes and waited for the possible plundering to be done with. The Knarr ship then came ashore of the now terrified city with Viking Warriors dismounted from the decks armed with longswords and battle axes, some raiders even brought bows and arrows and round shields to protect themselves. Their chainmail armor granted them an easy balance of mobility and protection.

Vulcan himself stat down casually on the steps of one of Rome's forum halls while tinkering with a blade that conducted magma through it. It didn't take long for him to hear the frightened cries of many of Rome's inhabitants calling out for him. "Oh just great. And not a well fit man in sight for this one. Vikings? More like the giant men of the north." Vulcan companined standing up. Surprisingly despite his crippled state from long ago he still managed to dash through the city streets with the forge on his back burned and churned full of scalding hot magma.

Strangely enough for Vulcan, he saw that the Viking raiders of the Knarr ship apparently grabbing a hold of some left over silks, random knick knacks and other treasures in the docks area of the city and haul them into the ship. A sight that was pale of the bloodthirsty burning and pillaging and sacking that had become common stories of Roman Garrisons in Germania. "Help! They're stealing my precious ring of family lineage that I stole from another guy!" Cried one random citizen as he was tied up by the Viking warriors before being hauled away onto the ship.

As the ship left however Vulcan summoned up a black metal cannon from air he had craft before. The cannon itself already was burning and coursign with bit of lava like rock glowing orange in between cracks on the metal of the cannon. He smiled with his teeth showing through his grin before firing a single cannonball towards one of the ships as they left the city. However the cannon fired split into 6 different scattered projectiles before striking the side of the ship. Each projectile blew up in a fiery blast. "Stay in your forest up North! You best not pick a fight with the master of smithing and weapons crafting!" Vulcan boasted in a gravelly voice.

"Run for your lives lads! It's the Roman Mechanic of doom!" Shouted the leading Viking warband chieftain as he turned around and ran back to the ship for escape from Vulcan's attacks against them. But as they head back and run, the Vikings saw a dark horseman coming up on their sides, the horse stopped in its track and kicked up its forelegs a bit before regaining its sense of balance. "Really? Plundering at this hour for the sake of personal conveniences? I expected more from the warriors of Asgards." Said Anubis, as it turned out, the rider himself was Anubis which meant that his army must be near or in fact just outside of the city.

Vulcan charged forward to the ship, but skidded to a halt sensing power coming from Anubis. Only the amount of power Anubis had was the amount only a deity could handle. Seeing another deity he stopped in his tracks confused. "Hey! There's someone old Vulcan can work with. Uh. That is if you're on our side! I think." vulcan side dropping his cannon on the ground. It hit the ground and shattered the road into a large cracked gash. Looking to Anubis however and noting the canine appearance it took awhile for him to gather this was the Egyptian general. "Oh wait a minute… You're that guy slaughtering the legions down south right? Are you here to fight me now. I got my hands full with viking amatures who think they can pillage and terrorize without punishment! I have a good mind to slap them silly with my banhammer!" Vulcan boasted. A literal massive forging sledgehammer appeared in his hands with the blunt end of the massive object seeping lava.

"Belay that! I have work for those Vikings." Anubis exclaimed to Vulcan much to the Viking's surprises as they look up at him scratching their heads seeing the stoic deity of the dead apparently handing them a pouch full of silver Drachma coins. "Take them. I want you to be a raiding band up north, along the Po River, there's an encampment by Roman Legions loyal to Crassus. He's the one you want not trinkets here." Said Anubis in a stern voice as he dismounted from Ramiel's back before walking towards the Knarr ship, he knew that Gunter was inside the vessel probably onboard preparing the ship to be loaded with spoils of war. "You can unload the stolen goods, silver Drachma would do you better." Said Anubis to Gunter on the deck of the ship.

"Yes sir! Do what he says lads! He's not to be provoked! Especially when you're a mortal man!" Gunter said with a quick speaking voice. It sounded both quick and got the point across to the other vikings. As he waited Vulcan grumbled to himself and relaxed seeing Anubis had the situation within his paws controlled.

As such the hammer he had with him turned back into a massive of moldable lava before seeping back into Vulcan's forge on his back. The lava streamed over Vulcan's arms and gathered back up into the hull of the forge. Listening though he heard the nervous vikings gathering up various pieces of trinkets in boxes. However, Anubis mentioning Crassus peaked Vulcan's interests. "What is Crassus doing now? I thought I felt the legions divide up into two once that other fellow took over. Lenox or something. Damn though I should know his name since he's actually got gears and cogs working up in his thinker." Vulcan said as the vikings on board pushed various boxes and crates back onto the street. Gunter giving Anubis a more nervous smile before backing away.

Anubis would then turned to Vulcan with a calm expression on his face but this time it was showing concerns greater than simply ending the war that was being fought by the Romans and Egyptians, "He's trying to reclaim Rome with whatever forces he had left with the Scipii. We're going to put a stop to it once and for all. But I need to know who's backing him to get an army together let alone transporting them here so quickly." Said Anubis as he stroke his chin trying to rationalize the events thus far seeing that the Romans were probably aided by deities to move themselves so quickly in so little time.

"So I should probably stop forging them weapons in the first place then… Riiight. I got you. No hard feelings right?" Vulcan asked pattern Anubis on the shoulder. Oddly enough a brazen shoulder guard appeared on Anubis's shoulder in a brass coloration. Vulcan looked back to the goods the vikings relinquished, and nodded. "Yeah i think we can get along nicely if we can get riff raff out of the city. And this entire broken civilization. Tried to fix it, but they just keep breakin' it." Vulcan said with a pout.

"I'll take the Vikings along to the North first. The rest of the Roman Legions under Imperator Lenox should be following up with my own forces. For now we'll have to do some raidings to destroy their supplies." Said Anubis as he then mounted back on Ramiel and grabbed the reins tightly in his paws. "I'll see you in Rome when victory is achieved." The jackal deity stated before riding off with Ramiel towards the entrance of the city where the Egyptian army and the Jackal Guards were seen moving along the road up north to the Po river. To remedy their problems with orthodox logistics, they adopted hammocks for transport.

Three persons per hammock, this allow them continuous march and rest without problems while their logistics simply follow along with waggons hauled by oxens and buffaloes or donkeys. The horses were reserved for cavalries like Anubis's elite Hetairoi or the chariot riders who rode to battles on scythed chariots. "We're having Vikings coming along, now all we need is a…" Before Anubis could finish his sentence however, a bolt of lighting struck the bushes in front of him, from inside he saw Ratatoskr scurrying out to meet him and Ra.

The squirrel seems to be a mix of excitement and heart broken as he scampered over to the two high ranking leaders of the Army. "OMGs OMGs OMGs! I saw the Roman Legion of fat toad Crassus marching down from the North! They're camping by a crossroad between Arretium and here. Also I saw a bunch of suspicious looking deities around them, Hades, Morrigan, Loki, hot babe Hel, you named it they got it!" The squirrel squeaked out hopping up and down on the ground.

Ra at first found himself to be startled by Ratatoskr's sudden appearance, but hearing his quick speaking frantic words this was easily something Ra could put off to be some type of stunt Ratatoskr performs to entertain himself. Ra crossed his arms and squirted down to Ratatoskr's level judging him carefully. Minus the wisdom Thoth had. As the thought he looked to Anubis with a frown and a second opinion. "I'm not certain of this… Should we trust him Anubis? This could be one of his many publicity stunts. He does this a lot… Normally your good at judging others." Ra stated in a firm tone.

"Not much evidence to believe him right now. Do you have anything else to waste your time with Ratatoskr? We're at war here if you don't mind." The jackal replied with a dull tone trying to give Ratatoskr a reason to leave them be. However Ratatoskr's ears were rather droopy indicating that he was distressed by something but not by Anubis's words. "Well...there's the death of Odin that I haven't told you about. He's gone! Eaten by my BFF Fenrir!" Ratatoskr screeched out before bursting into hysterical tears and crying, he grabbed a handkerchief from his satchel to wipe his tears away and blew his nose.

For a moment Ra felt some part of his mind stop working. In fact stop completely. Both seeing a genuine expression from a normally chaotic deity, but also the prospect of another ruler of a pantheon dead. However, as he thought on this harder and harder he realized he too was another ruling diet from his pantheon. He looked to Anubis wide eyed, and gulped. "Wait that prophecy came true then! They were right! That demon mutt is going to slay their entire pantheon! And worse we just lost another commanding deity! Anubis…" Ra started to look around his surrounding growing ever closer to Anubis feeling paranoia bit him. He breathed in and out, and brought a hand to his chest right above his heart. "Oh by all the god remaining I think I'm next! I'm the head of this pantheon, and we are destined to meet this demise! Oh mother what have we done!" ra stammered already exhausted. His older heart sore from his panicked beating.

"Calm down!" Anubis growled out holding Ra in place to make the sun deity stop his paranoid induced spasm before looking at Ra in the eyes finding that there was something he felt not right. "If Ragnarok is coming true, then what about Jormungandr? How come that serpent hasn't attacked anyone yet? Let alone surfacing from the ocean of the world?" He asked Ratatoskr in the face before the rodent scratched the top of his head finding something too did not sit right with him. "I don't know." He shrugged, "Ragnarok stone says that first it would be Jormungandr to rise from the ocean of Midgard, then Fenrir eating Thor and bring destruction to the world by eating the sun and moon." Said Ratatoskr before he began to pace around trying to make sense of situation's lack of Jormungandr's involvement or even his rise before hand.

Ra himself made slower breathing motion only taking longer slower breaths of air than he was before. He wiped his head off and looked back over to Anubis. "Well maybe they got something wrong with their prophecy. I don't understand…. Is there a conspiracy currently happening out to target the leader of each pantheon?... Speak rodent lives are at stake now! Mine included!" Ra shouted.

"I think there's a conspiracy alright! I saw Hel made visits to Fenrir and she helped him break free with a stolen Magic Staff of Sun Wukong. Oh and I even saw Hades along with other rogue deities talking to each other about why they joined. There's Bakasura, Scylla, Medusa, Arachne, Ah Puch and so much more. But I think us rodents will survive all apocalypses." Said Ratatoskr with a giggle about the latter part all the while Anubis stroke his chin hearing this. "I was blamed for the murder of Zeus. So there's that, I'll be taking a look into this conspiracy." Said Anubis with a pat on Ra's shoulders before riding off with Ratatoskr scurrying up on Anubis's back to tag along.

As the day came to an end, Anubis had arrived at the forest where the Roman legions were stationed. The dark and cold misty forest was a far cry from the warm and sunny deserts of Egypt and its oasis, to say nothing of the summer land of Hellas and its nearby Asia Minor cities. He would ride on Ramiel's back closer into the forest's interior with Ratatoskr on his back, the two kept watch as the place seemed to have an eerie feel to it.

As if someone was watching them. "Oooooh~ Ooooooooh~ Ooooooooooh~" Ratatoskr made pseudo Ghost howling noises as they rode into the forest, Anubis of course held up his paw at Ratatoskr's face to shut the rodent up. "If we're ambushed then it's on you." Said Anubis in a stern voice as they went towards the light sources of the nearby encampment, following Anubis were the Viking warbands to provide assistance. They soon caught sight of a Roman camp down the valley of the river where four guard towers were guarding the corners of the camp.

No doubt they would rain down fire arrows, the camp itself had various Roman Legions veterans for the most part with Celtic mercenaries as well as some Thracian following them. "Ooooooooh I didn't know he was that rich, maybe I should steal some slaves from him." Ratatoskr quipped and giggled at the sight with a devious grin on his face. "Quiet you." Anubis snarled at Ratatoskr while remaining hidden inside the bushes observing the camp seeing that the security was tight obviously to prevent anyone from infiltrating it easily.

With Anubis still was Gunter of Geats who stayed relatively close to Anubis. He however looked to the Roman camp with fear despite him trying to keep a focus on courage. However, it was difficult for him to manage his courage when looking deep into the Roman camp. Enemy soldiers scouting the camp well adorned in heavy armor with some of the deadliest weapons Gunter had laid eyes on. Well crafted thanks to Vulcan's previous influence, but much more professionally made compared to much more crude viking methods. "You know me mum told us as kids about waking dragons in their caves. Their home turf where they would be the strongest. I feel we are about to wake this one…" Gunter said anxiously.

"And wake it with fire you will." Uttered Anubis as he hand up various jugs made from clay with a clothed lid on the top of it. "Toss these into the camp's guard towers. Burn them down first and foremost before tossing more into the camp's supply sheds." Said Anubis as he handed out the various jugs to the Viking warriors in the group and gestured them to spread out to cover the camp's four angles. Gunter himself would follow Anubis and Ratatoskr closely to burn the Southeastern tower of the camp.

They would then begin to make their approach slowly towards the camp, they hid behind bushes and shrubs to obscure the line of sights of the Roman archers in the tower. Anubis himself was crouching down with a hood over his head covering him and his pointy ears as he and Gunter came to the base of the tower and its wall where they saw spiky stakes prepared to impale anyone coming close.

"They weren't exactly wanting any type of company… nor are the exactly hospitable… Alright. Let me try out me throwing skills again." Gunter said anxiously. He acquired one of the jars given to him by Anubis, and held it in hand before one of the other viking warriors came by with a cloth lit up already. The cloth ignited the top of the jar Gunter had in hand only on the top. However as the jars glew a faint orange Gunter began to test his throw predicting the arch of the jars andwhere it would fly. Back and forth his arm moved as breathed in and out adjusting his aim before settling on a position to throw. "Alright… here goes. Eda don't screw me aim on this one." Gunter said before chucking the jar to the top of the guard post. Instantly the jar cracked open releasing flammable connects which ignited instantly and spread across the guard tower nest lighting anyone and anything else in it on fire.

"Fire! Fire! Antonius we're on fire!" The archer screamed out as they were rattled out of their safe space as the tower began to be lit up from its legs by the fire. Other towers were soon lit up as well as the Viking warriors began to toss in more fire jars into camp's supply shed and the tents for the Legionnaires.

This set the encampment on fire as the Roman Legions struggle to put out the blazing inferno, Anubis then slammed his scepter on the ground, opening a portal on the ground from which, bony and skeletal arms came out grasping at the fleeing Roman legions and their Celtic and Thracian Auxiliaries and Mercenaries.

"Got them where I want them." Said Anubis as he casually waltz into the camp with his hood slowly came down revealing his face to Crassus and his fellow legionnaires. They saw their death, surrounded by flame and the embodiment of the Underworld stood before them apparently was about to unleash his powers on the Roman aggressors.

"Behold the Ashen Horse and he who sat on it had the name Death. And hell followed with him." Said Anubis in an ominous voice making some of the Praetorians shivered in fear seeing him stepping towards them with his sword unsheathed. "I fear...no judgement. Open your books, learn it well and write in blood. I am Anubis. I am the Scourge of Rome, by what name will they know you?" The jackal taunted them making some other veteran Legionnaires dropped their weapons and equipment before running away. Anubis grabbed hold of Crassus's head before slashing his sword across his neck, severing him completely as he held the bloody head of Crassus in hand.

Gunter continued his brave assault on the Roman camp despite many of them already being terrified. He whistled to his other men behind him to follow his lead as he still had many of the jars still with him. "Quickly while they are shitting their pants lets snatch their weapons! Let Anubis take care of this one!" Gunter shouted while he scavenged the camp for various pieces of Roman weaponry. Other vikings followed along with the plan as well. Gunter however took a short glance back at Anubis feel a cold shiver move up his spine genuinely creeped out by how cold Anubis could be. He decided to warm the remainder of the camp up by flinging the remaining jars towards structures, and tents behind Anubis ironically given the already menacing jackal some ambience and fire effects. A total accident on gunter's part.

Some of the Viking men who were busy with plundering the Roman camps found various Swords, armor and Roman weaponry that they can use. Others even picked up various trinkets and priceless jewelry and artifacts such as Roman rings belonging to the Nobles of the Roman societies. "Me wife will love me more with this here Roman booties!" Exclaimed one of the beardy Viking warrior with orange beard on his face as he poured Roman treasures and armored skirts into his bag of loots.

"Please hold still while I take a picture of this here epicly badass and menacing scene thank you." Said Ratatoskr with an enormous glee on his face as he prepared to take a photo of Anubis with his smartphone. But just as he was about to press the button, he saw the ground below Anubis suddenly turned black as ink, and a vortex with a shade of purple opened up with someone rising from it. He saw the bony figure of Hades with his clothes rising up as the Greek lord of the Underworld locked Anubis in his vortex unable to escape.

The sudden appearance of hades caused Gunter to stop his mad pillaging of the Roman camp and witness another god of the dead standing before them. This time though the Greek god of the dead. IT was an odd encounter and an odd sight. Though more terrifying for Gunter to see since his own god he wanted to win was in peril. "Oh fuckin' a. We got another one! Oh this one isn't on our side! And he's a bigger fuckwit! Hang on i'm coming Anubis!" Gunter shouted. He was a mortal though without any of the special abilities a god would have. All he had was blind devotion and a flammable clay jar. Though after he threw the jar at Hades it was only his faith in Anubis that was protecting him.

"Know that I don't take this personally, it's just business." Said Hades in a cold and impersonal tone, this was clearly a shift in opinion from the beginning of the perilous conspiracy and war that ensued. "None taken." Uttered Anubis before he was being blown across the camp into the forest, knocking down trees behind him as the jackal grunted feeling his body being roughed up by the hostile deity.

To make matters worse, Hades was soon joined by the hostile deities such as Ymir, Father of the Frost Giants and of course Loki and his daughter Hel to take on the lone Jackal. "Tah-night's forecast: A freeze is coming to town!" Said Ymir in a thick Germanic accent as he prepared his ice club for smashing Anubis. "Oh the cheese and ham he took, it's running off on the bad side already." Said Hades with a sigh at Ymir's ice pun.

As the group of deities ran up to take on Anubis, the jackal tossed down a collection of smoke bombs to cover his escape with a cloud of smoke that blinded the eyes of Hel, Ymir and Hades as they struggled to hunt for his signs on the ground, Anubis himself was ducking down in the bushes and crouch walk away to their back to return fire on the group. He first attacked Loki with his Mummify bandage and combo it up with his Grasping Hands and Death Gaze ultimate attack.

Loki himself grunted while anubis's surprise attack took it toll on him. The final attack being his signature gaze of death left Loki stunned momentarily. Though Anis could at least see Loki's face scowl at Hel. "What are you doing girl sick him for me!" Loki shouted. He looked and went invisible for a brief moment before disappearing while Hel was left alone to deal with Anubis.

From her own hands came glowing orbs of channeled mana energy that she fired towards Anubis. She was unlike her father though. Unskilled since they veered off away from Anubis. "Aaw crap… Don't hurt me! Dad help!" Hel shouted completely untrained as she was stuck out in the open. Just open enough for Gunter to throw a short Gladius he stole from the Romans into her shoulder. "Got em! Okay where is our trickster?" Gunter said while Hel had to hold her bleeding shoulder.

Unfortunately for Gunter, before he could interrogate her properly, he felt an icy breath blasted him from behind, leaving him frozen in place, Ymir came marching towards them as he prepared to smash Gunter with his club only to have Ratatoskr intrude on him as the squirrel came crashing down in a dive bomb manner. "Look out below!" The rodent squeaked out excitedly as he crashed on the ground stunning Ymir in the process before the rodent made a flurry attack around Ymir and bolted away in quick succession.

The frost giant became enraged and ran after the roden and summon an ice wall in front of Rat to corner him first before slamming his club on the ground, summoning a carpet of ice spikes rising up and struck Ratatoskr's tiny butt cheeks, causing him flying into the air holding his rear to soothe the aching pain. "It's a cold air up there!" Ymir remarked at Rat as the rodent flew up. The commotion however soon caught the attention of the forces surrounding the area as Lenox and his Legion saw the lights and heard the sounds of the embattled Anubis. From the looks of it, he wasn't fighting the Legion of Crassus.

"Oh no. Acemus We have a blitz occurring just ahead… Deities. I see a couple of Norse deities. Ymir who could freeze us, Loki who's mentality i can't quite grasp and his equally crazed daughter… no its worse. They have Pluto as well. Against Anubis though?" Lenox asked puzzled as he looked below towards the rampant battlefield. As he saw Loki made quick appearances using his blades to narrowly miss each time Anubis moved and dodged his ever crazed swings. It wasn't a sight leno enjoyed. "Let's not be cowards made an agreement, and we will damn well follow through. Legion full speed now! If we can surround Loki he'll have nowhere to run or flash. But keep distance from Ymir. Archers focus on Ymrir's eyes! Go move!" Lenox commanded.

"Archers at the ready! Loose!" The Captain of the archers ordered as they fired off their arrows at Ymir, raining hails of arrows down on the Giants as he held up his hands to cover his face from the rain of arrows that came down piercing his limbs and dented his icy blue body. "Not this time…" Hades uttered ominously as he dived into the underworld and resurfaced behind Anubis and used his ultimate attack, his Pillar of Agony like a vortex to pull Anubis into his grasp while the likes of Arachne and Medusa began to rampage into the lines of the Romans. Legionnaires struggled to hold their lines, using their Scutum to shield themselves from Medusa's arrows and her gaze while struggling to hold their grounds against Arachne's spiders.

As the forward line began to waver, they were saved by the timely presence of Horus who landed on the battlefield slamming Medusa and Arachne back in a powerful shock blast. The Egyptian falcon crown prince drew his sword with a traditional shield on his hand as he glided towards the two and engage them in combat using his bronze sword. Medusa slithered away but not before spitting out toxic venoms at him while Arachne had her spiders to keep Horus occupy. At that moment, Anhur and Ra were seen entering the fray to aid the embattled Anubis and drive off the hostile deities.

"Brother catch!" Horus screeched to Anubis as he tossed to Anubis a bow and a quiver pouch, it was a bow that seemed to work best with Anubis the most. "Lord of Bones", an aptly named bow for Anubis. The weapon itself was a recurve bow with a bony like motif on it, its arrow were said to have the power of the Duat shattering the enemies of Anubis in one blow.

Anubis was then joined by Gunter again as he held dual sword in his grasp. Brave and yet foolish. "Oh man i think i'm in too deep this time lads. If i'm gonna die i'll do it for glory!" he shouted. Though his eyes were keen on spotting the trickster god knowing him to be a more dangerous deity than the rest.

His eye however wasn't quick enough as Loki dashed out of his invisible hiding and made shallow cuts past Gunter's viking armor causing the viking to spin around stunned before Loki then made a cut into the viking's back. Loki however didn't expect the viking to throw yet another melee attack by chucking the short sword he had into Loki's knee. "That'l- ach!- keep yah still!" Gunter said stumbling around injured, but not broken.

Loki himself fell to a knee confused. "Oh what type of attack is this?! Cheaply throwing your woman like toys!? That's dumb…" Loki stammered trying to get back on his two feet. He grabbed the sword from his knee and huffed. "But a mortal viking man like yourself isn't going to break my might. Bitch." Loki added.

"Gunter!" Anubis shouted out seeing the Viking being hit by Loki's attacks before the deity fired his Mummify stun attack on Loki, ensnaring him in the process before rolling in and fire his arrows in successive drove, this left Loki punctured and full of holes on his body but not quite enough to die instantly.

However, Anubis was not done yet with the renegade trickster, he blew out his Plague of Locusts at Loki, ripping his armor flesh apart before forcing him back away from the Viking. Taking the loll in the fighting as Roman Legions and Egyptian army and his own Jackal Guards began to attack the fleeing remnants of Crassus Legions and the rogue deities, Anubis knelt down and checked on Gunter's wound before tearing out some linen bandages to hold Gunter's bleeding just in case.

Gunter however tried to push Anubis back as his ongoing battle determination drove him more to keep on fighting. Despite his injuries as well. He however looked towards where Loki had fallen. Loki himself looked much more battered with the locust attack leaving much of his clothes torn up. Blood seeped and soaked into Loki's clothing while he got up. Or at least tried to as Hel herself sat him back down after rushing to his side. Her much more harmless side coming through as she used golden orb of healing to soothe Loki. His wounds closing up while she gazed at Anubis. "I think daddy's girl is a little angry. She isn't well skilled though! You can take her easy!" Gunter shouted while Hel's darker side came through her appearance literally changing to a purple and black color scheme and her hand holding orbs of violet colored light. Eyeing Anubis, but unaware full of other deities around her.

"Aaaagh! Annoying bird boy needs to cool down!" Ymir growled as he swatted his club into the air trying to hit Horus but to no avail as they struggled to hold their ground against the overwhelming numbers of their enemies. "I have you now!" Ares shouted as he used his chain to grab hold of Anhur, Sekhmet and Ra and slammed them together in one clump.

Taking advantage of the situation, Ymir breathed out his Frost blast and frozen the trio of them instantly. "Stay cool sun bird." Said Ymir as he began to use his ultimate attack to detonate what amounted to an ice bomb that fired off shards of ice in all direction to cover for Loki and his rogue deities retreats. "We will meet again soon…" Said Hades to Anubis as the Lord of Tartarus melted into the dark forest leaving Anubis with an ice shard lodged into his abdomen area with his blood seeping up into the ground and the jackal having muscle spasm and twitches on the ground trying to pry the ice shard out.

As he pried the ice shard from his gut he felt a familiar feathered hand cover the back of his palm. The hand was black in color with some hints of cyan blue or green. The hand brushed Anubis's away and held onto the ice shard. What sounded like an Egyptian spell turned the ice into water, and the water itself glew a bright blue while healing the wound inflicted on Anubis.

Anubis felt multiple hands stand him up before he waturnedaroudn to see it was Thoth who healed him then. THough his face was of course filled with worry, and anxiety. "Anubis! Alright the spell I acted out should stop the bleeding, but the air is still tender. My goodness this was not a normal conflict…" Thoth said while Ra casted a circular patch of healing sunlight over the others to heal their wounds mostly heal them. "Yes… This explains some to me, but not completely. How many others are needing a sun tan? Please step up." Ra said. He got Gunter to join in the sun spot on the ground with the viking catching his breath after the fight of his life.

"Ugh...They...they...are organized, they have someone backing...them." Said Anubis with a cough as he struggled to get back to his feet as he used his scepter as a walking cane with Horus helping his brother to walk about. "They should...h...have-left something...in the forest." Said Anubis as he coughed out blood on the ground before walking towards the forested area where residual Mana energy were left with Horus aiding him to move about.

The two entered the dark forest of death where they found remains of slain Romans, cut down by hails of arrows and slingers while others were stamped on by their own comrades. Bands of mercenaries left behind their weapons and equipment to run faster. "Ther...there, in that bush, I can feel it, something inside of it." Said Anubis as he pointed to a bush in front of them by a tree bark. Horus aided Anubis walking towards it as they saw what appeared to be a cobra symbol carved into the bark and on the bush, there was something left behind, a calling card, a totem of a snake on a stone pedestal with a tablet crown on its head while its frills were extended to look intimidating to others.

As weak as Anubis currently was due to his injuries there was something about the calling card that cause Ra to suddenly to fall to his knees. The simple sight of the totem caused him to develop a sinking heart as he felt himself sink to a much lower level. "That can't… No! We killed you! We were done with you! You died and your legacy was cut brother!" Ra shouted in disbelief and outrage. Thoth himself held Anubis up and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Unbelievable... Anubis. This was before your time, but now…. I think time for all of us could be running short. Apep is somehow… he's cheated death." Thoth said in a hopeless tone.

Anubis as he was gripping his wound looked at the totem before slamming his sword into it, smashing the totem apart into pieces, an act that would be akin to destroy the soul of Apep via a proxy. However to Anubis, the usual methods will never work twice as apparently with the other deities in a single Cabal, Apep would no doubt be more powerful than before. "I'll find him and finish him if I have to...no one escapes the Duat on my watch." Anubis stated in a stern voice as he sheathed his sword looking at the remains of the totem before glancing at Ra and Thoth. "From now on, do not trust a single prophecy, Odin trusted a lie, and fell to complacency. He would have no doubt fallen from grace in the mortal's eyes. Despite his wisdom." Said Anubis in a spiteful tone as he held his wound.

Ra however crossed his arms after standing back up to his feet. He made a stern frown to Anubis and scoffed. "That's the only thing we have to go on though for the future boy! This is something you can't comprehend since you haven't faced this! Neither you or your brother have faced this before… Only me and… oh him… Set. We followed through with Neith's prophecy, and slayed the beast. We don't have mother dearest with us now. To make matters worse Loki and his cohorts could at any moment get Fenrir back to slay usas well. It appears Apep will use him against us as well. What more could have Odin done to prevent this prophecy? The wolf was unkillable. At moment now the ground beneath us could erupt fully while Apep work his evil. He's probably on his way now to get Fenrri." Ra stammered.

"So what? We will just simply live in perpetual fear and uncertainties? Odin fell for a lie and he ensured that whatever Ragnarok said must come true. Why do we have free will and individuality that our mortals also enjoy? If we're not using those traits then we shouldn't have existed in the first place. I'll do what I must to stop Apep." Anubis replied sternly as he was taken away by Horus to avoid further conflict with his elders. But as the two left, Anhur sighed out seeing that the divide was becoming ever clearer. The youth was taking a stand while the old become complacent.

[hr]

3 weeks later…

It was dead at night now in Egypt, the wind blew quietly across the deserts and mountains, whispering its eerie songs across the land of the Nile while the royal family slept peacefully in their rooms. But all had become ever more weary of life and the world around them.

"You can not face him alone Anubis! If you're dead then how can the dead be protected?" Isis protested with her son in the garden of the palace as the impulsive Jackal huffed out at his mother now growing ever more frustrated by the lack of support at home by his family members. "But if I do nothing then we would be destroyed by something that cheated death! He could be anywhere by now, and I must be certain where he is!" Said Anubis to Isis who began to sob at him as she held his shoulders with her hands trying to reason with her son. "You are a God Anubis, you need to be certain of what will happen, a prophecy had helped us once it could help us again." She reasoned with him apparently her ground was reduced to little more than a flimsy excuse. "A God? What is a God? I'm no difference than the mortals underneath me." Said Anubis with a sigh.

Disappointment, bitterness, lost, those were Anubis feelings towards his own kin, a fallen and lazy kind. A complacent collection of entities that sat on its ivory tower and follow the lies of prophecies. An over glorified prediction at its core with a strong emphasis on the powerless of those involved. A massive contradiction to the first fundamentals Anubis learned, individuality and personal agency. He had a dark hood over his head with his personal weapons slung on him like an assassin all the while he dragged Ramiel out of the stable with him, shushing at the horse to keep silence as they rode off from the palace's ground into the distant horizon, before long, the two were gone from sight, disappeared into a cyan green portal.

[hr]

2000 years later…2 years prior to meeting Angie and Logan

One morning during the summer, Thoth was at his usual place, a balcony in the Royal Palace speaking his memoir of the Graeco-Roman War to a royal scribe as he wrote down the accounts in hieroglyphic pictograms. Before Thoth however was a statue of Anubis, one made by the Greeks from limestone and marbles depicting Anubis on Ramiel's back with his sword held high at focal point. At the base of the statue, a title was enshrined in a glorious bold font made of gold. "Megalos Anubis", Anubis the Great, Liberator of Hellas, Judge of Two-Lands. Guardian of the Duat. The many titles that seemed to follow Anubis without a moment of hesitation.

As Thoth was working on his account of the Graeco-Roman war, one of his servant came into the balcony, a bald headed priest bearing a falcon on his hand. The falcon took off and transformed into Horus as he stood up before Thoth clearing his throat, but this meeting was clearly not one of joy or simple familial business. Horus was seen sighing out and began to speak to Thoth. "I have something you would like to hear first and foremost, the whereabouts of Anubis." Said Horus.

Thoth looked to Horus, and quickly sprung over to the falcon prince. Thoth grabbed both of Horus's shoulders and brought him closer to his face. Thoth's eyes wide and alarmed by the information. "Wait! No don't wait! I need to know now! I need to know where that lost child has gone off to! Horus how did- no nevermind! Where is he?! Has he been safe?" Thoth asked with questions coming in quick order.

"Well he has been well for the most part. Just not the most social character around the neighborhood." Said Horus in a hesitant manner to Thoth before whispering into Thoth's ears about the exact location of Anubis. "He's in a place called Animalia. A universe composed almost exclusively of Mammals without human mortals. He lives there for 2000 years now and has been a sort of farmer there." Said Horus to Thoth's ears as the falcon prince began to summon a portal to the location of Anubis's whereabouts, Thoth would see the sight of the Nile river banks, a bushy river bank at that with palm trees and high grasses to hide in. The High Vizier would see a hooded figure resting by the Nile apparently focused firmly on the river itself.

For a moment Thoth hesitated to even walk through the portal despite his long lost adoptive son being right there in his grasp. Even after 2000 years the issue he had now was the way they had all left off. A massive disagreement made all those years ago. And despite this Thoth slowly moved one of his feet forwards going through the portal slowly moving through it. Though not without emotional break down as he felt his tears ducts tingle and moisten slowly gathering on the break of tears. Even after crossing through the portal eh couldn't raise his own wise voice even if it would mean reuniting him and his long lost family.

Anubis himself was sitting by the river bank, his hood and cloak seem to fit with his fur the most, an all black apparel that kept him cloaked at night and looked ominous to the eyes of others as if he was a truly terrifying grim reaper stalking on them, preparing to take their souls. The jackal was apparently looking at something, a collection of papers, notes and bank cheques, it was no doubt that he was well off and was sending money to someone, the papers said that the recipients of the money was a "Charlie Pawliberius Frost", but Thoth hadn't seen the name clearly yet as Anubis gathered the paper and put them into a folder.

Thoth despite watching Anubis carefully saw now was his opportunity to speak. Despite his fears he flexed his throat muscles and tried to force air out past his vocal chords. Still though not much, but a croak came out from his mouth. He snapped his finger and swore in his mind t himself, but then tried again. "...A….Anu… Anubis… Anubis." Thoth said weakly in a quiet voice. He felt his ears water more as a gripping sadness pulled his entire being downwards mentally, and yet he stood up. Fatherly standing there waiting for whatever outburst may come from Anubis.

Anubis heard the voice of Thoth and for the first time was moved to hear it, not the usual brooding and gruff baritone of a man battered to the point of near emotionless. He hid the papers inside the satchel hung on his side before standing up from the bank and turned around to face Thoth. The jackal remained unchanged, his physique remained the way it was 2000 years ago with toned muscles and abdomen six packs. Though the most noticeable differences were his clothing, he now wore a more rugged and almost peasant like outfit of the modern time with his weapons remaining traditional and covered in the wrappings of his dark cloak. "How did you find me?" Anubis asked Thoth, a dry but seemingly perplexed tone.

Already the words felt like a stabbing knife of rejection to Thoth as he simply made a sad bird like cooing noise finally letting only of his tears slip past his eyelids. He grabbed both of his hands in a begging gesture as he watched Anubis. "Th-that's the thing… I don't know. H- Horus. Your dear brother came t- to me, and told me where you were… You're still as healthy as you were when you left us... We all missed you, but… i suppose you aren't wanting to return to us." Thoth said. Depression in his voice.

Anubis sighed out to Thoth as he slumped his head down seemingly to denote his own depression and perhaps something that had happened to him long ago that Thoth didn't know of but affected him greatly. "I can't return...I've seen it with my own eyes...mortals are more reactive than Gods. Give them a prediction of impending events and they'll steer the boat away from certain dooms. If they're smart enough." Said Anubis in a more cynical tone that was alarming even to Thoth. It was like his apathy towards deities and others have gotten the better of him and rendered him emotionless. "I'm sorry for running away, but I doubt back then you would listen to me let alone Ra." Said Anubis with a guilt ridden tone as he sat down under the palm tree crossed legs.

Thoth feeling a metaphorical dagger at his throat was too afraid, and too anxious to even sit down next to Anubis. Rather he stood up nervously and gulped in his fears, and tried speaking again. "Well… That was the whole reason why you fled from home. And family…" Thoth said as he approached Anubis again getting closer. Each step felt like a step closer to his own death."B-but nothing has changed! No event has occurred and what ever occured has since stopped. No Set… N- no Apep… I- its. We didn't listen… You're right. You're absolutely right." Thoth said in a defeated tone.

Anubis remained quiet, he didn't reply not even in a smug victory tone that rubbed off of Thoth or Ra behind the hawk's back as the jackal sighed out and stood up from where he sat. "I knew something wasn't right. One detail not in line with the alleged absolution of prophecies and fates and everything unraveled." Said Anubis in stoic tone to Thoth before holding the ibis's shoulders to keep him firm and steady before hugging his adoptive father in.

"I missed you too...but never had the time to ponder it." Said Anubis as he began to sob at Thoth, the wise ibis would soon pick up something, he found that Anubis was by the riverbank the whole time and nearby was a necropolis, a large burial ground for the local populace of the town of Lycopolis.

Thoth couldn't resist hugging Anubis in and letting his weaken mental state break through as he sobbed tears of bitter sweet joy. He barely saw the riverbank as wet tears blurred hsi vision. Yet it still somehow drew his interests. "B- but why here?... In this place? Where are we right now, and wh-why did you flee here? Y-you don't have to answer my question, b-b-b-but I love you… I missed you, and time never healed the wound in my heart, and my soul…" Thoth said.

"I just felt this place wouldn't ask a question about my appearance." Said Anubis as he began to lead Thoth up the sand slope towards the burial ground, the jackal arrived at the tombstones that seemed to be ancient, two tombstones with a grey stone texture on them with large oval shaped appearance on them, they hadn't been moved or uprooted since their placements here. On one stone it was written in Hebrew, the writing translated to "Rest in peace, in loving memories Yochebed, wife of Ahmad."

The other had similar writing but the tone was even more sombre than the one for the woman in question. "Rest in peace David/Set Sutekh. In loving memories to the robbed young." Said the tombstone as Anubis laid a flower on it to show his love and respect. Thoth could tell that there was something, some history Anubis had with the tombstones. Especially the one that said "Set Sutekh" on it, clearly it wasn't that of Set himself but a child, one that Anubis knew.

Thoth himself began to feel slightly ill as the emotional drive hit him. In fact the wise deity didn't need to take long to understand what this was here. He stepped back feeling a wild sadness suddenly hit him from before to the point it made him feel a digging fear. "N-no. Please tell these aren't… Make my beliefs, and theories wrong! Please… I can't know about this now…" Thoth said in a desperate tone.

He felt Anubis's hand on his shoulder gripping him before the jackal turned Thoth away from the sight of the graves and walked away from it. "No, you don't need to know. They're ancient histories now. It's best to let the past be buried." Said Anubis as he walked away with Thoth as the sand blew over by the wind covering their traces as the two began their long process of catching up to one another on matters and affairs.


End file.
